The Sisters-in-Time Affair
by degunther
Summary: A Kate and Karl Story- Kate and Rick's "dreamtime "alter egos solve a case in early 1950's San Francisco while Kate and her Team battle to solve a case without Castle in present day NYC. This story uses the Karl and Kate characters introduced in 'Dream Time'.


**The Sister-in-Time Affair**

A Kate and Karl Story- Kate and Rick's "dreamtime "alter egos solve a case in early 1950's San Francisco while Kate and her Team battle to solve a case without Castle in present day NYC.

This story uses the Karl and Kate characters introduced in 'Dream Time'.

**Preamble**

For the fifth time that night Kate reached around and tried to fluffy up her pillows. 'Just when I get used to sleeping with him he deserts me, 'she groused. In a fit of anger she rolled to her left and threw a punch in the pillow next to her. Right where Castles head would have been. 'Feel better? …No' she answered herself. It was Castles' first book tour since they had been married and it was a long one, almost two weeks. It would have been shorter, but Castle had negotiated two days off to do some research into the Castleton family. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but right now Kate missed him and wished he was home with her. The tour started in San Diego and ended in Reno with stops in almost all of California's major cities. Black Swan, the publishing Company, had estimated that the tour would result in the sale of over four hundred thousand additional copies or downloads of Castle's books. It's his job and I know it, but it still stinks Kate thought. He left this evening and had not even landed yet, so she could not talk to him. When the phone rang she laughed, well at least I will have a murder case to keep me company.

**Chapter 1 Kate and Karl **

Kate Castleton awoke to the sound of her husband exercising on the veranda outside their bedroom. She knew that meant he was home from his run. She swung her feet to the floor and sat up. Stretching she took off her nightgown and slipped on an oversized sweatshirt of Karl's. She put on a pair of cotton exercise pants and some tennis shoes, grabbed a towel and went outside to join her husband for his cool down stretching exercise routine. After Alexander, their son, had been born she had joined him in his daily exercise stretching routine. In no time she had gotten her figure back and then some. She quietly laughed at the folks who said she was out of her mind for doing this.

She opened the door and felt the cool of the late autumn morning air. The sun had not risen but it was light enough to see. She turned the corner on the veranda and saw her husband finish his pull-ups. When he dropped down and turned around she saw a huge smile engulf his face. Of all the mirrors in all of the universes may my husband's eyes be the last one I see myself in, Kate prayed. For in them I see I am truly loved. She placed the towel on one of the wicker chairs and hurried to her husband's side. Together, side-by-side they performed their daily routine. For Karl it was the end of his two hour exercise period. For Kate it was forty minutes of husband time, no calls, no meetings and no interruptions, just Karl and Kate helping and supporting each other as they did their exercises.

After their shared shower they dressed in their 'uniforms' and joined the rest of the family for breakfast. Kate's uniform was that of the President of the first or second largest agricultural company in California. Today Karl's uniform was that of a gentleman of the Central Valley of California. Today he would accompany his wife to Sacramento for a meeting with some legislators, produce buyers, and the Port Authority of Sacramento. Joining them was Henry, Kate's Dad. Alex, their year old son, was still sleeping the sleep of the babes.

At fifty-one Henry Miller was still a healthy and hearty gentleman. His heart attack over a year ago had been a wakeup call. He had turned the daily operation of the business to Kate and concentrated on his health. Today he still kept his hand in as a consultant and managing the special projects for Kate. His presence at the early board meetings had calmed a lot of fears. Now, the present board trusted Kate completely, and with good reason. She had done a marvelous job of running and growing the company.

Karl Castleton would not have been Henry Miller's first, second, or third choice to marry his daughter. In fact Karl would not have made any list what's so ever. He wasn't rich, or famous. He did not come from a prominent family, in fact he didn't even graduate from High School. Henry knew Karl had trouble as a teenager and chose to enlist in the Marines to fight in World War II rather than go to jail. Henry knew Karl's reputation as a street smart Private Investigator and had hired him to shadow and look after his daughter during a college graduation splurge in New York City. When a kidnap attempt occurred Karl had killed eight, wounded two and had taken three bullets himself. Kate had personally nursed him back to health, fallen in love with him and that was that. He tried to talk Kate out of it, but when Kate looked him in the eye and said "Dad I'm going to marry him." He recognized an unwinnable fight and hoped his daughter would survive to live another day. What he did not see was that they were completely devoted to each other and a perfect compliment. Kate was smart as whip and had graduated with honors from one of the best universities in the nation. Karl was street smart and knew how things got done in the real world. Together they were a formidable Team.

When he had his heart attack and Kate came in to run the business he was glad that Karl was with her every step of the way. Some of his rivals had tried to intimidate Kate into selling portions of the business. What they found was Karl looking back at them. And trying to intimidate Karl was like having a nine year old with a tree twig for a sword try to intimidate the ancient Sphinx, not going to happen. Henry was also surprised at Karl's creativity. His calligraphy was outstanding and several galleries had commissioned him to create pieces, also he published a book of poetry that had been reviewed favorably by the New York Times. And when Alexander was born and Henry saw that there was a good chance that his family would survive for at least another generation he was content and did everything her could to support his daughter, his son-in-law and their family.

Karl was normally left out of the morning breakfast conversation because it centered on commodity prices, weather forecasts, land valuations, and legislation. He knew it was Kate's job and she was good at it. He also knew that she loved him, and it was only on the rarest of days that they didn't have any alone time. We belong together, he thought. When Kate reached out grabbed and squeezed his hand and then turned and gave him a huge smile he knew it was true.

Breakfast was almost over when Emily, the head housekeeper, entered the room and announced. "Mr. Karl you have a phone call." Henry had established a rule and Kate had kept it. No phone calls during mealtime. For Emily to break this rule it meant that the phone call was a matter of life and death.

"Hall phone?"

"Take it in my office darling," said Kate.

When Karl got up he pulled out the chair for his wife and offered his arm. Whatever it was they would face it like they had all of the previous challenges. Together.

**Chapter 2 Present Day Crime Scene [Day 1 Thursday Night]**

Detective Beckett was the last one to the crime scene and she hated it. The traffic around the Loft had been bad and not even the lights and the siren bought her much relief. She stepped off of the elevator, ducked under the crime scene tape and headed for Dr. Perlmutter. The crime scene was on the roof of a five story older building, the Mercantile House, right on the edge of the financial district. Despite the buildings age, it was still prime real estate. The company had turned the roof into a 'green space' that even Alexis would have approved of. They had used potted plants and trees to create pathways and had provided tables with power receptacles so that their workers could workout side if it pleased them. In some areas they appeared to be growing grass. In the one concession to Mature Nature the company had installed a small, for lack of a better term, greenhouse. It provided a place to go on rainy or winter days.

"What do we have Doctor?" asked Detective Becket. As soon as she asked she saw Esposito and Ryan hurrying toward her.

"Ah, Detective Castle. Where is the non-detective Castle?"

"Book tour," responded Kate sourly. "He just left and will be gone for almost two weeks."

"Pity," the Doctor said with a mischievous gleam in his eye. "What we have here is forty- nine year old Caucasian male in real good physical condition who was garroted by someone I think is incredibly strong."

"And that?" asked Kate nodding toward a mess that was not quite incompletely in the flower pot.

"From his partner. He was first on the scene and found him."

"Beckett, His name is Michael Holland, and he was one of ours," said Esposito.

"Okay," acknowledged Becket "We are going to have Brass Oversight. Anything else?"

"I know him," said Ryan. "He is a straight-up guy. He joined the force early did his twenty-five and retired to go traveling with his wife. She was a travel agent and wanted to go see the places she sent people to. The last eight he spent as a Desk Sergeant with the 27th."

"Time of Death?"

"Our system has him calling for the elevator at ten-thirteen. It shows him swiping to open the door at ten-sixteen, and our camera shows him exiting on to the roof at the same time," said a medium height, slightly over-weight man dressed in a leather coat over a tie less shirt and kakis.

"I'm sorry Sir," said Beckett, "Who are you."

"I'm Robert Jamison 'Bob'. I'm the Security Manager for this site. Mike works for me. I know he was one of yours Detective, but he is one of mine now and I want the person who did this off the streets fast."

"Appreciate it Sir. Anything else?"

"At ten-thirty his partner, Tim Mullins, who is over there taking with your Uniforms, noticed that Mike was not back from his break. He put the system on Security Override, which effectively locks down the building except for people in Security, and went looking for his partner. At ten-thirty-four he came on to the roof, found Mike called me and then the authorities."

"I can't do better than that," said Dr. Perlmutter.

"And?...Excuse me Sir," said Detective Beckett as a Uniformed Officer approached.

"Detective, we got Mr. Millis statement. He really is shaken about it. He seemed to indicate that the company would co-operate fully with the investigation. "

"We will Officer, we will," said Mr. Jamison.

"Sir I believe you were going to tell me something else."

"Yes Detective, I was going to tell you that Tim kept the system on Security Override mode and when my backup team arrived we searched the entire building. We found no one."  
"Are you trying to tell me that according to your system Mike was alone on the roof?"

"Yes Detective."

"What about the camera on the door?"

"It's set to cover the door. Look Detective we have to balance the privacy of employees with their safety."

"What happened?" asked a frustrated Esposito, "Did a VP get caught necking with a girl and he had you turn the camera around?...What type of company is this any way?"

"We are an economic research house. We have 200 researchers and due roughly 500 million a year. …Detective what time would it be convenient for you tomorrow for me to bring in copies of my logs and videos? I will walk through the logs with you and show you why we think the only two people in the building at the time of the incident were Mike and Tim."  
"Is nine-fifteen okay?"

"Yes Detective."

"Do you have current next of kin information?"

"Yes, if you drop by office on the way out a will give you a copy. I've taken the liberty of calling his daughter. She was the only one that was local. She said that she would go down to the station house and talk to the police."

"You have been more than helpful Mr. Jamison. Could you get the next of kin information for me please? I need to talk with my Team."

"Certainty Detective."

"Guys" Beckett called out waving for the Uniformed Officers to join them. "Have you found anything?"

"No"

"Thought as much. Espo you and Kevin hit the parking garage. See if you can find any names of people who left around the time of the murder. "

"Guys," she said as she turned to address the Uniformed Officers, "I am probably sending you on a snipe hunt, but the building over there is the only one that has a chance of seeing anything on this roof. Find the names of the people who checked out after ten-fifteen or who are still in the building."

"Hunting snipe is our specialty," quipped one of the Officers.

"I'm heading back to talk to the victim's daughter. Are we missing anything?...No, then let's get after it."

As Kate was walking back to the elevator she heard Ryan ask "I wonder what Castle's theory for this one would be?"

"Ninja's or an agency," supplied Esposito. "Right now this does have an agency feel."

For the second time that evening Detective Beckett was late, and like the first time she hated it. When she exited the elevator she saw Captain Gates head pop-up in the lounge, and she was obviously with someone. Not bothering to take off her coat she opened the door and entered the lounge.

"Sorry I was late Sir," Beckett offered.

"They only just got here," the Captain replied. "Detective Beckett this is Julie Stevenson and her husband Fred. Julie was Mike's daughter….Julie this is Detective Beckett. She will be leading the investigation."

"Sorry for your loss," came the automatic response from Kate's lips. "Mrs. Stevenson your Dad was one of our own and we will do everything we can to track his killer down. "

"Julie, Detective, I'm Julie." Kate watched Julie fight back a sob, grab her partners hand hard and continue. "I'm been a Cops daughter all my life and I know that you mean what you say. I also know that you need to ask me some questions about my Dad, so let's get started so I can go home and have a good cry."

"Kate, I'm Kate. Before we start. Your brothers… do you want us to….?" asked Kate admiring Julie's courage and strength.

"No Kate. I'll tell Tom and Mark. It's something a 'big sister' is supposed to do."

"Tell me about your Dad," began Kate in a soft voice.

"My Dad. When he retired from the Force to travel with my Mon I was never prouder or loved him more. My Mom was a travel agent, and when they found out she had cancer and it had spread too far, he immediately retired from the Force and traveled with her to the places around the world she wanted to go for as long as she was healthy enough to travel. When they got home she insisted on staying in a Hospice. She said that she did not want her home stinking of Death. "

"Did he have money problems?"

"Yes and No," said Fred. "Mary's illness nearly wiped out most of the Julie's Dad's savings and investments. He took out a line of credit on the house. When we found out that he was going to use some of it to help Mark with his tuition for his last year in school. We told him no. Mark worked hard and got a Grant and Aid and between us and Tom we covered the rest. The last time we talked about money, he said he owned less than five thousand dollars and he would be debt free by Christmas."

"Dad didn't understand how he as a civilian and being on the job for less than a year could be making more money than a 25 year veteran on the NYPD," said Julie. "He said he was using the pension to pay down the debt, and clearing enough from the job to start putting money in the 'Spoil the Grandkids' fund."

Kate watched Julie's hand go to her abdomen and her eyes glaze over for a moment. "How far along are you?"

"Maybe six weeks. How did you know?"

"The way you touched your abdomen and the way kind of looked inside yourself. As if you were trying to see if the baby was okay or telling the little guy that everything was going to be alright."

Julie nodded, "You have kids Detective?"

"Not yet," said Kate. "Castle and I have just started trying and we are hoping." She heard Captain Gates shift and short of gasp, but she remained focused on Julie.

"Did you have much day-to-day contact with your Dad?"

"He came over every Sunday for lunch," said Fred. "Then depending upon the season, we would either watch a ball game or go watch a movie."

"My Dad loved the movies," said Julie with unbridled affection. "Having him take us to the movies was one of my best childhood memories," continued Julie chocking down a sob.

"Did he ever talk about the job, his co-workers, or old cases?"

"He talked about the job one time. He said he took it to stop from going insane. Outside of that nothing. Oh he did say that his last eight years of as a Desk Sergeant probably aged out all of the possible grudges," said Julie.

"Issues with neighbors? Friends?"

"None that I know of Kate. Tuesday is one of his nights offs. He goes to Kelly's on Primrose to throw darts. Uncle Kelly was Dad's partner for at least ten years. You should go talk to him. Besides the movies his only outside passion was the zoo. He often talked about doing some volunteer work there, but I don't know if he ever did. "

"We will visit both tomorrow," said Beckett. "Tomorrow morning we are going to send a Team to your Dad's house to collect his mail, phone and computer."

"I know. You won't find anything. Just…"

"We won't trash the place," interjected Captain Gate. "If anything is out of place they will answer to me personally."

"Thank you Sir," said Julie. "If I didn't know it was necessary I'd probably scream. Look Detective I think my Dad was just at the wrong place at the wrong time…..Do you know when the ME will release the body?"

"Probably tomorrow," said Captain Gates. "I'll let you know. Also the Department will probably be contacting you about the funeral."

"Okay. Can I go home now? I want to email my brothers, take a long shower, and probably cry myself to sleep." Kate watched Fred fold his partner in his arms, kiss her forehead, and hug her tight as she started to sob.

Captain Gates rose, "Sure," she said. "I'll walk you out and have a Unit take you home."

Kate accompanied them to the elevator and then returned to her desk. When she looked at Castle's chair she checked her watch. It was nine-thirty in San Diego. She picked up her phone to call him just to hear his voice and then decided against it. Instead she remembered their goodbye kiss before he boarded the plane and Gina's envious look. "Sleep well love," she verbalized. "And watch your back."

She checked her watch again, shrugged, and then began to prepare the murder board with what they knew and tomorrow's assignments. She smiled when she saw the email from one of the teams she had sent on the snipe hunt. "Game bag Contents: One Drug Dealer and two users, no snipe." Forty-five minutes later she was on her way home.

Once again dressed in her night shirt, Kate sat down on the bed and looked at Castle's side of the bed. She missed him. She missed how he could make her laugh and forget about the case. How he could fall asleep in a blink of an eye and how his steady breathing and presence calmed her. "I love you Richard Castle," she whispered to the four walls. Kate climbed into bed with a sigh and tried to remember what it felt like to have Castle's arms around her.

**Chapter 3 Kate and Karl – The Request**

Karl was not surprised when Henry joined them on the way to Kate's Office. One of the first things that Kate had done when they had moved back from New York in response to her Father's heart attack was to convert one of the downstairs guest suites into a modern office. Originally she had done it to be near her Father as he recovered. Now it allowed her be near Karl and Alexander. He deposited Kate at her desk and moved to a side table that had an extension. He noted that Henry had seated himself at the other side table that had an extension. Taking a deep breath he picked up the phone, "This is Karl Castleton. How can I help you?"

"My name is Austin Conrad. I am an attorney in San Francisco. I have a client who would like to engage your services as a Private Investigator for a delicate matter."

"Counsellor Conrad I do believe we have met. You represented the Seller when my wife bought some land in the Bay area."

"You have me at a disadvantage Sir."

"No matter. Do I have your permission to let my wife, and my father-in law join this conversation?"

"Mr. Castleton may I remind you that this is a delicate matter."

"Yes Sir I do believe you mentioned that."

"I'm afraid the matter is too delicate."

"Then I must refuse," said Karl firmly. "If there is nothing else?"

"First tell me who your father-in law is?"

"Henry Miller"

"You married Kate Miller?"

"Yes, I believe that logically follows," said Karl with a touch of humor in his voice.

"Wait…My client agrees."

"Henry, Kate I do believe you have Counsellor Austin Conrad's permission to join the conversation."

"Austin old friend, this is Henry. How are you doing?"

"This is Kate."

"Henry I had no idea he's your son-in law."

"He is his own man. Now tell us what you need. The long distance charges are costing your client a fortune."

"My client is Thomas McHenry. I believe he is a friend of yours Henry."

"Yes," said Henry. "What kind of trouble is Tom in now?"

"He is being blackmailed. It seems a female acquaintance of his was found dead on Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park."

"Tom's current mistress you mean," interjected Kate.

"I was trying to phrase it to be acceptable for delicate ears," countered the Counsellor.

"Delicate ears," scoffed Kate. "Counselor, a month after I married Karl I drug him to a 'bring your own bordello' in NYC and did my best to screw his brains out. So do not talk to me about delicate ears."

"Katie!" exclaimed Henry.

Karl was aware of two sets of eyes focused on him, and he was unable to control his immediate reactions. He was glad that the blood flowing to his checks was masked by the huge grin that had gripped his face. He was proud of his control when in a steady voice he asked, "What is it you want me to do?"

"My client wants you to find and neutralize the Blackmailer. If you can, find Mary Ann's killer and bring them to justice."

"What is my husband's fee," asked Kate.

"Excuse me?" replied the Counsellor.

"What is your client willing to pay for my husband's services?"

"Fifty dollars plus expenses."

"Ridiculous. Thirty a day plus expenses and we will submit an itemized list for your approval. This is not open for negotiation. "

"Agreed, but what did you mean by we?"

"I will be accompanying him of course. I have company business to attend to while Karl finds the Blackmailer and killer. How about we meet for dinner at the 'Top of the Mark' for dinner tonight at seven-thirty? I'll handle the reservations once you ring off."

"Dinner at seven-thirty at the Top of the Mark. We will see you there."

After the line had been cleared," Karl could you handle the reservation? Dad Karl and I will handle the buyers and the Legislators. Can you handle the Port Authority this afternoon?"

"Of course Kate. We have both been over the numbers a hundred times. The answer is obvious."

"To us yes, but to those bureaucrats?"

"What do bureaucrats want? More things to control. So that is the exact thing I'm going to give them."

"That might work."

"Of course it will Kate. Now what company business in San Francisco?"

"I'm pushing forward with the Strawberry Fields Project."

Henry frowned, "It's a good idea, but do we have the cash right now?"

"Dad sixty percent of the trees in the new orange groves we planned two years ago bore fruit. I sent gift boxes to a couple of the produce buyers. They are falling all over themselves for some of the crop. That is a couple of the deals we will close today. I will use that cash to buy the land and schedule the improvements."

"They weren't supposed to produce until next year."

"I know. I convinced that the new irrigation system is partly responsible."

Henry shifted his gaze to Karl who was still on the phone. It was his idea to install the new irrigation system. He had to admit the water costs were down, and all of the groves with the new irrigation system had higher yields. But there were still too many variables to say the higher yields were a result of a better irrigation technique. But increased profit was increased profit.

"It is windfall cash, but let's not over extend ourselves."

"I won't Dad," she said as she gave him a hug.

On the way from their estate on the banks of the American River to her offices in downtown Sacramento Kate sat back and regarded her husband. Kate knew the transition from NYC to the central valley of California had not been easy for Karl. He was slowly adapting, and doing it his way and she loved him for it. She knew he has a warrior's mentality and outlook on life. She also knew he was soft as a marshmallow and one of the primary reasons he became a private investigator was to help people, and those opportunities here were fleeting at best. When she suggested he work on some committees he looked at her like she was from another planet.

One of the things he had done was to improve the living conditions of the migrant workers who harvested the fruits and vegetables that the company sold. She vividly remembered when Karl had actually dragged her out of bed and driving her to one of the temporary housing areas the company provides. He was livid. When he asked her what she was going to do about it she told him to fix it. Not just this one but all of them. She actually had several fond memories of both of them working on the weekends to make the places, safe, sanitary and livable. The last time, she was five months pregnant with Alexander and the workers had taken her tools away and forced her to sit in the shade. The project consumed all of their ready cash and some of their precious working capital.

The project had two effects, neither one foreseen by Kate or her Dad. The first was the other companies thought they were stirring up trouble with the workers. That made deal making difficult. The second one was the workers appreciated the efforts and always applied to work on their fields first. The result was that the company was able to consistently collect the 'first of season' premium for their produce and in less than half a season the money had been recovered. Now they had a small team of people who went around from place to place before it opened to make sure the places were still safe, sanitary and livable. She had taken Karl's warning that the people were one of the key elements in determining the profitability of the company seriously and she was always looking for additional ways to help.

The second thing Karl had done was join the Sheriff's Office as a volunteer deputy. It seemed he went on patrol every other weekend. And outside of breaking up the occasional bar fight or referring at a domestic disturbance nothing really happened. Karl said that so far his biggest accomplishment was moving were the kid's raced their jalopies to a more secluded and safer road. Still it made him feel better and she did not begrudge the time. She reached out patted him on his thigh and gave him her best smile.

The first two appointments went like clockwork. Kate and the produce buyers exchanged signed contracts, congratulated themselves, talked about continuing to work together for the next season and quickly went on to make the next deal. The third appointment was the wildcard. Kate though that if she could pull this off she would have more than enough cash to fund the Strawberry fields project.

"Good morning Miss Miller I'm Joe Nolin. I'm the new buyer for Natural Juice," said a medium height, stocky built man in his early twenties. He was wearing a white shirt and a blue pin-striped suit. His wingtip shoes were well polished and he was carrying a huge Stetson hat. "I'm glad you called. I've been trying to come up with an excuse to make an appointment."

"Its Mrs. Castleton now," said Kate. "I called you to discuss a business proposition."

"I know. You have a windfall of oranges and your normal buyers cannot take all of them, and right now you do not want to ship them out of the state. So that leaves one other alternative, juice. My company is intrigued. Normally we do not get this good a quality of orange to turn into juice, but it is a new orange…."

"Take one," said Kate pointing to a bowl. She watched him peel it, take a bite and his face light up.

"How much did you say you had?"

"I didn't, but my foreman is estimating at least an additional one hundred thousand bushels."

"But you trees were not expected to produce till next year."

"I know."

"We'll take all of them, and I'm authorized to over a premium over the normal juice orange."

"Great. Can I ask you to work with my Robert my business manager to fill in the details?"

"Absolutely. Thanks for the call and the orange. I think we are going to be doing business together for a long time."

After lunch in a downtown diner that would not have been out of place on the Lower East Side in NYC, the Castleton's went toward their appointments in the legislative offices. Karl hated these visits. He knew that they were important, but he still hated to come. One thing though. He was not going to let Kate come here alone. Not since the time Kate told him that one of the politicians said that the only way he would vote for the legislation is if Kate slept with him. If Kate hadn't grabbed him and smothered him in kisses …. He had to admit that kissing Kate sure took his mind off of other things.

The politicians always seemed to want campaign contributions or things built in their districts. This pair of meetings was no different. Kate managed to extract them from the meetings without committing to anything. Home to pack, and then they were on their way to San Francisco. Karl was looking forward to the challenge of the investigation, but he was not looking forward to the two hour drive from their home to the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco. Karl looked over at his wife with envy. When they left their home she had taken off her hat and put it on the rear seat, folded her shawl around her and went to sleep. She is beautiful Karl thought and for a moment he struggled to keep his eyes on the road.

**Chapter 4 – A Day without Sunshine [Day 2 Friday] **

Kate woke up a little earlier than normal. She was tired and grumpy. It had been a late night, and now she was facing the morning Castleless and with a case with which they had no real clues. 'Well at least the case will keep me busy' she thought. "Be save babe," she said as she closed the Loft's door and headed toward the 12th.

**At the 12****th**

The boys arrived at the precinct only to find Kate already there working at her terminal. "Hey guys. Grab your coffee and let's get started."

When they returned Kate looked around. Normally it was Castle who acted as the master of ceremonies, but today…."Javier you and Kevin take a team over to Mike's house, pull his computer, phone and mail. Right now we are without a motive and I would like correct that. Have some uniforms canvass the neighbors, normal stuff. I have one other thing that I thought about this morning on the way to work. I'm pretty sure that no one from the company was on the roof. That means someone else was. Javier you have some friends on SWAT that are ex-special forces?"

"Yes"

"See if they can break loose and have them meet you at the crime scene. Figure out how you would get onto the roof and then find some evidence."

"Right," said Esposito with enthusiasm.

"I think he is clean financially," began Kate. "His finances don't show any large or sudden movements and were getting better. Pretty much like his son-in law described last night. Over the last month his outgoing phone calls were to Kelly's, a bar he plays darts at, his daughter and for takeout. I've also asked for a list of his case files. The most recent one is ten years old, so that is probably going to be tough sledding."

"Kelly's?" asked Ryan.

"Yeah, a bar he plays darts at on Tuesday nights. It's owned by his partner. I was going to drop over there after I'm through with the Security guy from last night. He is due in about thirty-five minutes. The other call I need to make is to the Zoo. His daughter says he may be doing some volunteer work, but the phone traffic doesn't support it."

"Did you guys have any luck with the parking garage last night?"

"It's an automated system. The person we talked to said he would send us a list of the credit cards that were used after ten PM last night."

"Touch base again before you head out just to remind them."

"Sure"

**Esposito and Ryan**

On the way to the victim's house in Brooklyn Javier blurted out. "I'm worried about Beckett."

"Me too," said Ryan. "I've seen this before in other people. She has no one to go home to so she dumps all of her energy into the case."

"Spends too many hours on the job, becomes tired and eventually makes mistakes. Sometimes fatal ones."

"She is not there yet," said Ryan. "Last night could have been a onetime thing. I mean she was down here with the victim's daughter and could have decided to do the murder board then instead of this morning."

"And if she threatens to stay late tonight?"

"We send her home," said Ryan.

"Damn straight."

When they arrived at the victims' house they found CSU and a pair of Uniformed Teams waiting for them. Ryan briefed the Teams while Esposito lead CSU into the house. The house was a modest two story on a quiet residential street in Brooklyn. When he opened the door and walked in Esposito felt that the house felt sad and abandoned. Shrugging that off, he lead the way into the den. CSU quickly snagged the laptop and the phone. Esposito was drawn to the wall with all of the photographs. Each picture was of Mike and his wife, even in her mid-forties she was an attractive woman. Each picture was label with the place and date the picture was taken.

"He must have really loved her," remarked one of the CSU technicians.

"Yeah," said Esposito momentarily speechless.

"Detective I think the mail will be a bust. Look. All that is here is advertisements and direct mail nobody wants. No bills or anything else."

"That checks," said another technician. "I did a quick check of his email. It looks like he gets his bills through email."

"Bag it anyway," said Esposito. "It will only raise more questions if we leave it behind. Let's make a walkthrough and see if anything looks out of place. Did you check his desk for any files?"

"Yes, I grabbed them. At first glance they appeared to be just financial and things about his kids."

Outside of needing to be vacuumed, the house was relatively tidy and nothing struck the team as missing or being out of place. Esposito felt sad when he locked the door and sealed it with a NYPD tag. This house will live again he thought.

They had to use the lights and siren in order to arrive at the crime scene on time to meet Esposito's SWAT friends Officers Hanson and Jenkins and as fate would have it both were named Chip. Mr. Jamison escorted the four officers personally through security and onto the roof.

"Okay," said Esposito. "Beckett doesn't think that the killer was in this building. That begs the question how did the killer get onto the roof, take the victim completely by surprise, virtually rip his head off with a garrote and leave undetected. Beckett wants us to think of how we would do it and then find the evidence."

"At night Javier?" asked Officer Hanson.

"Yeah Chip"

"Any lights other than what is on the roof?" asked the other Chip.

"No Chip"

At about the same time all of the Officers looked at the Parking Garage.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Chip?

"If you are thinking zip-lining down from the seventh floor then swinging back then yeah."

"Then there should be some grappling hook marks about… here," pointed Esposito at the four very faint indentations in the wall. They all looked straight across at the parking garage.

"Right by the stairwell," remarked Chip.

"Concealment and access" remarked the other Chip.

"Can it be done?" asked Mr. Jamison.

"We could show you if you like," remarked Chip "We have the equipment in the van."

"In this?" remarked Mr. Jamison. This morning's clouds had thickened and turned into a light but steady rain that none of the Officers seemed to notice.

"Espo?" asked Chip.

"Do it" Esposito responded. "Before you start, give me a call," he continued tapping the radio.

"Roger that," Chip responded. Each knew that Javier wanted to time the operation.

"Ready" barked the radio.

"Go" Esposito replied.

"Incoming" barked the radio again. Forty-two seconds later Chip was standing beside them.

"Go to the corner of the roof. Let me know when you get there. When I yell come here and swing back to the garage.

"Go" yelled Espo.

They watched Chip move unhurriedly to the rope, calmly attach his safety rope, release the grappling hook and swing toward the garage. No one heard Chip's feet hit the garage wall. A few seconds later he had climbed up the rope a bit, swung into the garage between two cars and released the rope. He had moved from the spot of the kill to safely out of sight in forty-seven seconds.

Mr. Jamison was speechless. Ryan had to ask him twice before he escorted them off of the roof.

Back at the van the SWAT Teams members had used to travel to the crime scene, Ryan asked, "Did you see anything over there?"

"No. We checked the sixth, seventh, and eight level nothing."

"Not even abrasion marks?"

"A good nylon rope won't leave any, especially the way we tied the knots," replied Chip. "And to answer the unspoken question as to what type of person could have pulled this off. The answer is simple. A skilled one."

"Thanks guys," said as Esposito as they all knuckled up.

"No problem," said Chip.

"This was a blast," said the other one.

"And besides," said the first Chip. "No one in SWAT wants to face a pissed off Beckett!"

**Kate**

Kate had just sorted the victim's case files into the appropriate year groups when an Officer brought Mr. Jamison to her desk. "Thanks" Kate said as she nodded to the Officer who had escorted Mr. Jamison.

"Thanks for coming Sir. What do I need to provide to make this happen?"

"Just a table with a flat surface Detective."

"Let's go to the lounge. Coffee?"

After they had obtained their coffee they settled into the lounge. Kate was momentarily surprised when Captain Gates joined them. Pressure from above, she thought.

"We have one of the most sophisticated security and personnel tracking systems in the industry and we need it. We do economic analysis and we are good at it. Sometimes we have contracts for two competing firms and we have to be able to prove to them that only certain people worked on that job. We do that by setting up special rooms and allowing only those people cleared for the job."

"But first let me start with the badge," he said as he pulled his out for their inspection. "These things are incredibly expensive and management gets really ticked when an employee loses one. It contains an RFID chip that is programmed with the employee's permissions. It also allows us locate any individual employee."

"We log each ID swipe and ID swipe and pin. We have ten doors on which the access pads protect. For example," he said as he pulled out a print out, "This is the log for the roof from eleven-thirty to one o'clock. As you can see it is keyed by badge number. You can see when they came on the roof and when they left. At one o'clock you can see there were still three people on the roof."

"The next print out I'm going to show you is our master location sheet. This one gets rather large. I did a couple of snapshots so that you could get a feel. At six am we see four people in the security center and two people on the second floor. That is shift change over for the security folks, and Tom and Tanya Jones. Their customers are primarily European so they get in early. At eleven o'clock we have people everywhere. At three o'clock we start to slim down and at six o'clock we are down to the security folks, the cleaning crew and a couple of researchers. When Mike was killed the system shows his partner in the control enclave and Mike on the roof," he emphasized pointing at the last printout.

"Impressive," admitted Captain Gates.

"Detective, the log shows Mike Carey leaving the roof at five-fifteen and exiting the building at five after six. The next roof event is Mike opening the door at ten-sixteen. All my people are accounted for."

"I believed you last night Sir. Detectives Esposito and Ryan and a couple of SWAT members will be at your facility later. I asked them to determine how the killer got on the roof and provide the evidence."

"I'll escort them myself Detective. If there is nothing else I need to get back."

"I'll escort him out Detective," said Captain Gates.

"Thank you Sir."

Back at her desk she called the NYC Zoo and confirmed that Mike had enquired about volunteer work but had not actually done any. Next she tackled the case files and the going was slow. Officer Holland had been a beat Cop, a Training Officer and a Desk Sergeant. In the last ten years of his career she couldn't find anybody still living that would have cause to hold a grudge. 'I guess I'll try Kelly's' thought Kate. 'Maybe his partner knows something.'

'The clouds are as dark as I feel,' thought Kate as she rushed through the light rain from her cruiser to the awning proclaiming 'Kelly's Place.' Once she stepped in she started to relax. This place felt like a neighborhood bar run by a cop. Looking around she saw an older version of Kelly than the one she had seen in his retirement photo. This version was a little grayer and stood behind the bar with a towel over his shoulder.

"Mr. Kelly?" Kate asked. "I'm Detective Beckett …."

"A beautiful homicide Detective come to ask me about my partner. Sit Detective sit. Can I start you some lunch, our cheeseburgers are fantastic."

'Cheeseburgers' thought Kate and she immediately felt a momentary pang of loneliness, she missed her shadow. "Soup? Sandwich?"

"Tomato and Chicken Noodle fresh from the microwave. Grilled cheese, tuna, ham, beef, we do a mean Ruben."

Kate looked around. The bar was really quite full of people eating. "Comfort food, nuke me some of the chicken noodle and how about a tuna sandwich."

"Done and done. Mary," he said addressing the thirtyish women behind the bar, "I hate to do this to you but I'm going to need to talk to the Detective for a bit," and Kelly disappeared to prepare the food.

Later after he placed the food in front of Kate, he stuffed the towel underneath the bar and came around the bar and sat next to Kate. "I know how this goes, so I'll start talking and you start eating your lunch and listen…. Mike is a stand-up guy period. So don't even bother to ask. ….We were partners for over ten years and there wasn't a situation on the street that he didn't handle with humor and finesse. ….I don't think he had a lasting beef with anybody….He took the Desk Sergeant's job so that he could spend more time at home with his wife and kids, and he handled that job with class and style. …Carole was a sweetheart and a looker. It's a shame that she had to die so young…. He took it hard but recovered because he said Carole was watching over him."

"Here… he comes here every Tuesday to throw some darts. Sometimes he is in the money, sometimes not. …Competition and kicking the ass of the younger guys, that is why he plays."

"Anybody get upset with him winning?"

"Nah, because he was a gracious loser and everyone respected that."

"Did he ever leave here …"

"Drunk, No. He had a two-beer an hour limit. And he always eats something before he leaves. He normally had either the cheeseburgers or a steak sandwich. ….He never went into the bottle Detective."

"What I'm hearing Kelly is that Mike ruffed no one's feathers as a beat cop. He ran a pretty good station house and doesn't have a major vice."

"And no real enemies on the civilian side."

"When I combine that with no beefs from his current job I don't have a motive."

"Yeah, I know. Look I know you are slugging through his case files, but you aren't going to find anything….. He was my partner and if you need to come back and ask then come back and ask. If you come back when you are off duty, I might even spot you a beer."

Kate gifted him with a small smile and a laugh, and she felt some of her gloom fall away, "So how much do I owe you for lunch?"

**Back at the 12****th**

Esposito and Ryan walked back into the Bull-Pen, looked at the murder board and shook their heads. It was as they expected. Kate had either crossed out or annotated NJ (No Joy) to each of their leads or activities. The only one still open was 'Back Cases'.

Esposito went to the murder board and beside 'Access' he wrote 'Zip-line from Parking Garage. Minimal forensics.'

As Javier finished Kate said, "Let's get started. …. As you can tell I've got zip, zero, nada and nothing. Mike's computer, cell phone, and files clean. The parking garage said no one left between ten PM and two AM. Right now I do not have a motive. I'm still working through the case files but I don't think I will find anything."

"We know that someone with skills could get on the roof," said Esposito.

"And someone with refined combat skills took Mike out. The garrote is not a beginner's weapon," said Ryan.

"It would also require preparation and reconnaissance," said Kate. "They would have to know he worked there and observed his break habits."

"But we don't who or are why," concluded Captain Gates. "We need to fix that."

After Captain Gates had retreated to her office, the Boys approached Detective Beckett's desk. "How late to you plan to stay tonight," asked Esposito in a neutral voice.

Startled by the question Kate looked up, "For about another hour, why you asking me out?" she fired back. Then she saw the concerned look on their faces and understood.

"Sorry. Okay you guys think because Castle isn't home I'm going to work till I implode and cause us all to crater. I should be pissed but I'm not. You're looking out for me. …. I have a standing ten PM local Skype 'date' with my husband. It will be private and intimate and I'm not going to miss it. Okay?"

The Boys exchanged relived looks and nodded.

"Kevin last night you said that if Castle was here, his theory would be an agency or ninjas. We all know his theories are outlandish. But most of the time they make us stop and ask ourselves a question. So let's ask ourselves a question. 'Why would an agency or ninjas be involved?'"

**At the Loft**

It was five minutes till ten and her phone rang. "What the hell," Kate exclaimed. "Castle?" she asked surprised.

"Kate we got a late start out of San Diego. The GPS says we will be at the hotel in twenty. Can I call you in forty?"

"You driving?"

"Yes"

"How's the traffic?"

"Typical LA Freeway."

"Then hang up and put two hands on the wheel. I didn't marry you just to lose you in a traffic accident. Castle you know that two hands on the wheel means none on Gina right?"

"Roger that," said a laughing Castle. "I know my wife is a gun totting bitch who would not hesitate to shoot my balls off if she even thought I was messing around with another woman."

"Good you Do understand," said a laughing Kate.

"You know I didn't mean the bitch part right?"

"I know," said Kate in a playful tone of voice, "But you're still going to pay."

"See you in a bit."

"Bye Babe"

"Rick," said Gina. "I know I've said it before, but this time I'm going to say it and mean it. Congratulations of finding and marrying Kate. You two seem very happy together."

Castle was unsure of which way this conversation was going so he opted for the 'if I say nothing I can't be hung approach.'

"I know Kate can't be happy that I'm traveling with you."

"To say that Kate was okay with me traveling with a beautiful and intelligent woman that in the past has been my wife and my lover would be like calling Mount Everest a slight elevation change. She doesn't like it. She knows its business and she trusts me to keep it that way."

With a nod that Castle did not see, Gina went back to watching the road and her own thoughts.

"Hi Babe," said Kate when Castle's picture finally appeared on her screen. From her perspective it looked like Castle had rushed into the room threw his bags on the bed, fired up his laptop and called her. 'Exactly like he should have done,' she thought. "How's the trip so far?" She could tell from his expression how he felt. He loved the parties and the mingling. He didn't mind the readings because he could do a little role playing, but the book signings were pure torture.

"I miss you," he responded.

"You avoided the question."

"Yes and I miss you even more."

"If I remember your first event tomorrow is not till after lunch. So you get up early, get your exercise in and work with your new baton. I don't want you coming back all flabby and soft," she smiled.

"Yes mistress," Castle mock sighed.

Kate knew she would have to hound Castle to get in his exercise. He was pretty good at home, but she needed to be sure he had developed the habit. She saw by his face that he did not want to discuss the trip.

"Castle we caught a case." After describing the details she concluded, "We can't find a motive. No conflicts at work, or in his personal life. His case files are almost non-existent. Those do exist are milk toast."

"Maybe it's not about who he is or was, but where he was. Do you think he could have seen something he shouldn't have?"

"Maybe. The guys found a way to get to the roof unseen, but it would require preparation."

"Ok, Death Day, Death Day minus one for preparation, what did he see two days before he died?"

"He was an ex-cop, if he saw something suspicious he would report it."

"Not if it was something normal, something he had seen in the past."

"Why kill him then?"

"Tying off a lose end? Someone got nervous?"

"Theories?"

"He saw something he shouldn't have. They noticed him and took him out."

"Who are they?"

"An agency agent, a highly trained service member"

"Ninjas?"

"Yeah," said Castle with enthusiasm "Of course Ninjas!" When he saw Kate yawn he smiled.

"Go to bed Kate. You need your sleep. I'm not going to be there to watch your back so you need to be extra sharp."

"Tomorrow Babe"

"Tomorrow Love"

"Get your exercise in," implored Kate before she cut the link.

**Chapter 5 Kate and Karl – Dinner with a View**

When Karl's car finally stopped on the semi-circular drive in front of the Mark Hopkins Hotel, there was a set of hands reaching for his and Kate' door handle and a third set reaching for the trunk lid.

"Welcome back Mr. and Mrs. Castleton," said the Doorman. "Your suite is ready and your bags will be there shortly."

Karl handed Tim, the Doorman a tener, "Could you have someone fill the tank and add it to our bill? We won't need the car tonight but we probably will tomorrow morning."

"It will be ready Sir." Karl had learned earlier that tips buy future good service. In the past he had tipped well, so when he asked for something out of the ordinary, like getting the gas tank refilled, he was sure that it would be done. By the time had rounded the car and had collected Kate on his arm their bags had already disappeared into the hotel.

On their way to the Front Desk, they detoured by the Concierge Desk. Kate asked for a list of the Big Band and Jazz performances in the area to be sent up to the suite. Karl knew that Kate liked to dance and listen to jazz. He had hoped to be able to take Kate out for a night of dancing this trip. Now he knew he would extend the trip in order to make to make it happen.

At the Front Desk Kate signed the registry card and reserved the suite for a week and arranged for the bill to be sent to the company. "Alex?" asked Karl.

"We will have Dad bring him over when we get done."

"Good. I can't wait to take him on the cable cars. I wonder how your Dad did with the Port Authority guys."

"I'm sure he did okay. We still got time get the new equipment approved and installed. Our ace in the hole is the city council, they will see the jobs and the tax revenue."

When they arrived at their room, they were not surprised to see their luggage already in the room and for the most part unpacked. Kate frowned when she saw Karl's gun case. She didn't like him to wear it, and he knew that. But if things got dicey then he would do what he must to keep them both safe.

"Karl on the way over here I had a weird dream. …. You're going to laugh at me."

"If it's funny I will," affirmed Karl.

"In my dream I was named Kate and I was NYPD Detective." When Karl started to scoff Kate fixed him with a fierce glare.

"I suppose it could happen," Karl conceded.

"I, we, she were lonely. Our man had just left on a trip and we love him so….Also we have a frustrating case."

"What advice did you give her?"

"I told her to grab her man like this," as she placed her hands around Karl's neck, "and to kiss him like this…..What time is it?"

"Around four-thirty."

"Dinner reservation?"

"Seven-thirty.

"We have just enough time," said Kate as she led him to the bed.

Karl never liked to arrive early, but he knew better than to delay Kate. She loved the view from the Top of the Mark. He had to admit the view of San Francisco was spectacular. You can have San Francisco, he thought I will take Kate. Tonight she wore her low cut emerald green dress that he loved. She pulled her long light brown hair into a jade comb on the left side of her face. Her only other jewelry was a simple gold bracelet she wore on her left wrist. Karl casually looked around the room and concluded that without a doubt his wife was the most beautiful room in the world.

While they were waiting Kate ordered several bottles of wine from the family's vineyards. The wait staff, experienced with the Castleton's, avoided an awkward moment and let Kate do the wine tasting. Karl smiled at the irony. The Miller family, a producer of fine wines for at least a generation, owned its family fortune to Prohibition and Karl, who married into the family, could not drink alcohol. The patriarch of the clan anticipated the coming of Prohibition and diversified into orange groves and other agricultural land. Karl was born with the inability to metabolize alcohol. He learned that he got drunk easily and the USMC doctors to him that if he drank too much he could actually poison himself. A Marine that did not drink was always a target for jokes and pranks. Karl was good with his fists, and that nonsense soon stopped.

Kate appraised the quests as they approached their table. The man on the right dressed like a lawyer, excellently tailored gray pin stripe suit, white shirt, club tie and highly shined shoes. The man on the left was obviously their client. To Kate he looked familiar. Maybe Dad him out for dinner a couple of times. He wore a dark blue, double breasted suit, white shirt and a club tie. His diamond studded tie tack, heavy gold bracket on his wrist and numerous finger rings spoke of his wealth. He seemed in reasonable shape and for being in his mid-fifties was still quite handsome. She could easily see him taking and keeping a younger mistress.

"Katie Miller," said their client Thomas McHenry as he bent to kiss her hand, "My have you grown. I think the last time I saw you, you were still in pigtails."

"It's Kate Castleton now," she said with a glance at Karl, who had stood up at the approach of their guests. "Only my Dad can get away with calling me Katie."

"How is Henry?"

"Fully recovered and enjoying life as a semi-retired grandfather," Kate beamed.

"Karl", said Karl as he offered his hand to both gentlemen. "Please" he said as he spread his arms wide gesturing to the chairs."

Dinner was excellent and Kate kept the conversation flowing, interesting and off of the topic of the meeting.

But after the desert dishes had been cleared away and replaced with a pot of coffee, "I hate to spoil the evening," said the lawyer, Austin Conrad, "but we need to address the business at hand. Did you have a chance to examine the material I left for you?"

"Yes," answered Karl. From his tone of voice and facial expression Kate knew that her husband had donned his PI personality. "I have a couple of questions. Does the person really expect you to send a cashier's check to a post office box in Chinatown? What are the details he is going to release? Is it about the Lady's death or the fact she is your companion. "

"Yes, and I don't know," answered Tom.

"I will need the lady's address, and if you have a key I will need that."

"Why?"

"If he is blackmailing you about the murder, then I need to find the killer and searching her apartment could help with that. If he is only blackmailing you about her being your mistress, then I would say don't pay and take your chances. "

"I don't want my wife to find out."

"Trust me," said Kate. "She probably already knows. She lets you have your dalliances, and as long as you are discrete fine. She continues to enjoy the good life. "

"Kate!" said Tom.

"You know," Kate continued un-phased by the outburst, "You men really underestimate us womenfolk."

The rest of the meeting filled in some of the details and end with the promise of additional material in the morning.

"For the record," said Kate as she sat at the vanity in their suite and brushed her hair before bed, "if you step out on me I will cut your heart out."

"I would not have it any other way," he replied as he stood behind her, looked at her reflection in the mirror and then bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her neck. "Tomorrow?"

"I can cab it. I plan to go down to the Produce Market and see what is selling and for how much. I also want to see who is buying. I want to look at the land again before I talk with the real estate guy."

"I want to walk the land with you." Karl stated. "How about I head down to the precinct in the morning and meet you at the South Entrance to the Market at around 10:30?"

"Okay"

"Late lunch at the Chalet in the Park? Then a walk up Strawberry Hill to look at the crime scene?"

"Glad I brought some sensible shoes," Kate quipped. "I have been sitting at the desk too much and the walking will do me some good. When were you going to look at the victim's apartment? Won't that be breaking and entering," she teased.

"Probably late afternoon tomorrow, and no Thomas owns the building and we have his permission."

"Early dinner in Chinatown?"

"That's what I was thinking, then maybe the jazz club that's a couple of blocks away?"

"That's tomorrow what about tonight?"

"I was hoping my wife wants to fool around some more."

"She does," purred Kate as she put down her hairbrush, shrugged out of her dressing gown, turned off the light on the vanity, and turned into her husband's arms.

**Chapter 6 What Do You See? [Day 3 Saturday]**

Kate started the morning meeting as soon as Ryan and Esposito had obtained their coffee and gathered round. Captain Gates wasn't present, and it being Saturday Beckett did not expect to see her until mid-morning. "Do we know who has IT support this morning?"

"Sandi I think," said Esposito. "Why?"

"I'm coming up with nothing as a motive. So maybe it is not about who he was or who he is now but about what he saw."

Nodding Esposito said," So you want Sandi to put a guy on the roof on the Mercantile House and give us a list of the things he could see."

"Yes, I would also like her to print a small labeled map that we can take with us to the crime scene and double check. "

"He was a cop. So you are thinking that what he saw was common place, but if it was tied to an event it could lead to the bad guy."

"Exactly. You guys said that the killer needed one day to recon and prep?" When Esposito nodded Kate continued, "So let's start on the day before he died and see if there are any incidents reported that were within his line of sight."

"Esposito work with Sandi to get us a list of sites. Once Sandi gives us the list, I'll start looking through the blotter. You guys go to the crime scene and verify what Sandi's computer is telling us. Ryan I need you hit the Parking Garage again for departures. We marry the credit cards to people you know the drill. I'm going to finish up with Mike's cases."

Kate finished with the case reviews before Sandi was halfway through with the site listing or the map. At first the data from the parking garage was overwhelming. When it became apparent that almost all of the data was redundant the task became simpler. After a few phone calls, it became obvious that most of the owners of the cars worked at the same company and they had assigned parking on the other side of the parking garage. When Sandi and Esposito came back with the site list, Ryan and Beckett had reduced the Parking Garage data to twenty-three names to run.

"We'll head out due the survey and grab lunch on the way back," said Esposito. "Do you want us to bring you something?"

"Thanks, I'm good. I brought some stuff from home," Kate replied.

Checking the incident blotter resulted in one hit, Griffin Technologies Limited. It was listed as a Robbery incident and the details were restricted. There wasn't even a name of the reporting officer. 'Just like those guys' Kate fumed as she made a call to the Robbery Desk for the information she needed. "Hey Kevin," said Kate over the cell. "Make sure you can see the Griffin Technologies Limited facility okay."

"Sure, why?"

"That's the only incident within line of sight of the crime scene," she replied.

Kate had finished writing Griffin Technologies Limited facility on the board when Captain Gates walked up.

"Why is that on the board Detective?"

"Are current working theory is that the victim was killed because of something he saw, not who he was, or his current situation. This is the only reported incident within line of sight of the building. Do you know anything about it Captain?"

"Robbery Conference Room Nine AM Monday."

**Kate and Rick with Rick in LA**

"We took your idea and ran with it. We got one hit, an incident at the Griffin Technologies Limited facility. When I asked Captain Gates about it she clammed up."

"What do they make?"

"They are a think tank specializing in Cyber Security."

"Hot topic."

"They are privately owned, so not much is public about them. From their contract announcement s section on their website they do a lot of US Government work."

"You say a theft occurred."

"Yes but the information is sparse. How was your day?"  
Castle frowned for a moment then started to grin. "You know that Gina personally selects the sections she wants me to read. When I looked at it, it was the same section from last night. So I asked the audience what they wanted me to read. They wanted the make out scene."

"Page 124? Where Rook..."

"Yep"

"Meredith would love that scene, Gina not so much. Dinner plans?"

"With Meredith and Gina."

For along moment there was silence and then "Are you crazy? They will tear you and each other apart."

"I thought I was being craze like a fox. I thought by having dinner with both I would be alone with neither and that would please my lovely and beautiful wife."

"It's still crazy," she said.

"I'm crazy all right," agreed Castle. "I'm crazy in love with a woman named Kate. I go crazy when she calls be Babe. I go crazy when she holds my hand. I get lost in her eyes and dazzled by her smile. And I'm going crazy because I can't hold her in my arms and kiss her."

"Words like that will keep me by your side forever," said Kate in a soft voice. "Or until you screw up again," laughed Kate as she blew him a kiss. "Tomorrow Babe"

"Tomorrow Love"

"Get your exercise in," implored Kate again before she cut the link.

**Chapter 7 Kate and Karl A Long Day to Stardust**

Karl walked into the 29th precinct and almost ran over a Uniformed Officer that had bent down to tie his shoe.

"Hey watch it," the Officer tying his shoe yelled. "Hey gun!"

"Don't run over the new guys Karl, it takes at least a year to get a replacement," Said a voice ahead and to Karl's left.

"Well Bob if you teach them not to block the entrance way we wouldn't be having this problem."

"You get paper for that piece?"

"Sure do," he replied as they closed on each other, stopped and exchanged handshakes.

"What brings you to town?"

"Kate has some business and I need to talk to a couple of Detectives about a case."

"Oh, who?"

"Sanchez and O'Riley"

"The Strawberry Hill murder. Look Karl, that case has cover-up written all over it.

"Anything you can talk about?"

"No, just that is being shuffled under the rug."

"Okay thanks"

As Karl continued his way toward the Desk Sergeant he heard the one Officer ask Bob. "Who was that?"

"A Marine buddy of mine you absolutely positively want to play straight with."

"Why?"

"He's a friend worth keeping."

"Hi Sergeant I'm Karl Castleton. I would like to speak with Detectives Sanchez and O'Riley. They are expecting me." The Sergeant looked at Karl and saw a six-foot two, two-hundred and twenty-five pound man in excellent condition calmly waiting for an answer. Definitely ex-mil , he thought.

"Permit," he demanded.

"Here" said Karl as he passed him both the gun permit and his PI credentials.

The Sergeant did a quick check, handed them back and picked up the phone. "Let me see if they are there…Fourth floor. They will meet you at the top of the steps. "

"Castleton?" asked a medium sized Hispanic man dressed in the traditional Detective's uniform, dark suit, white shirt and dark tie.

"Yes"

"Sanchez, Come on. My partner will join us in a minute." They arrived at a small conference room at about the same time as a red haired Detective that probably is just as home in NYC. "This is my partner O'Riley." The room was small, windowless, worn, but not shabby and simply furnished with a small table and chairs, and the smell of cigarette smoke was everywhere.

"Why are you interested in the Strawberry Hill Murder?" asked Sanchez.

"I'm paying paid to be," replied Karl honestly.

"By whom?"

"Do you have a piece of paper and an envelope?""

Sanchez smiled, went to his desk and brought back a piece of paper and envelope. Karl carefully, so that the Detectives would not see, wrote Thomas McHenry on the paper, folded it and stuffed in the envelope. After he had sealed it, he signed his name across the seal, making it apparent if anyone opened it. On the front it wrote To Detectives Sanchez and O'Riley. With a flourish he handed the envelope to Detective Sanchez.

"Hey, what was that all about?" asked O'Riley.

"This way if his client asks he can say he did not tell us his name and if this gets to any type of Review Board he can say he provided us with the information. Nice"

Karl acknowledged the Detectives chain of thought and said "I can say that you guys looked at him for this and found his alibi to be rock solid."

"Thomas McHenry," said O'Riley. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"He wanted us to figure it out," said Sanchez. "What do you know about the murder?"

"Only what is in the papers."

"Unfortunately we don't have much more. We liked McHenry for it but as you said his alibi is rock solid. Between the people at the restaurant, the cabbie and the people at his club he wasn't out of sight long enough to take a piss let alone kill the girl. "

"What do we know about Miss Michaels?" Karl saw the Detectives exchange looks.

"We have been sort of discouraged into looking into her," volunteered O'Riley.

"And last night we got assigned a new case," said Sanchez. "And the Captain wants it to be our number one priority."

"So this case dies," observed Karl.

O'Riley touched the tip of his nose with his finger. "Why did McHenry hire you?"

Karl paused for a long moment, his gaze shifting from O'Riley to Sanchez and then back. "He is being blackmailed. He wants me to find the blackmailer."

"About the murder or the girl?"

"Don't know. You know, this case smacks of a jealous sugar daddy."

"A well connected one," added O'Riley.

"The new Sugar Daddy wants her to break it off with the old one, sees her at the restaurant confronts here and she winds up dead. Do you know who else was at the restaurant that night?"

"No, not really. We interviewed the wait staff about what they might have overheard. Apparently they had words. We lost the thread when the Maître d' said he called a cab and he personally put her in it."

"How did she get to the top of the hill?"

"Walked….We haven't figured it out yet."

"Talked to the cabbie?"

"No, none of the cabbies will admit to taking the fare, and none of their trip logs show anything."

"Maitre d'?"

"A Yellow Cab is a Yellow Cab," shrugged O'Riley.

"Castleton, you don't have much of a reputation here, but the folks in NYC say you are all right," said Sanchez. "What I'm saying is you have no friends on the Force here so really watch your back, "he continued in all sincerity. "If you do find something let us know. It's still our case. We may be able to help."

When Karl arrived at the Produce Market he saw Kate sitting on a couple of crates munching on an apple and talking with some of the other growers. She was wearing a bright blue blouse under a heather gray jacket. Her skirt was of a fashionable length and dove gray. She was wearing one of her off white wide billed hats. Karl had to admire Kate's fashion sense. This outfit played well here and would everywhere else they went today. When Karl came close she held out a Bartlett Pear for him. "Eat that before we leave. It could be a while before lunch."

It was an hour and ten minute drive from the Produce Market to the land Kate was thinking on buying. There waiting for them was Tom Lei. At five-ten and one-hundred and eighty-five pounds Tom was larger and stocker than the average third generation Japanese- American that he was. In spite of the Japanese paranoia fueled by World War II, Tom had managed to get a degree in Agriculture from Purdue. Unfortunately for Tom the paranoia years had been followed by the prejudice years and despite his grades, ability, and enthusiasm he had not been able to land a job with any of the Agricultural firms. Now he was living with his parents and working as a grocery clerk in his father's store.

"Good morning Mrs. Castleton, "Tom called out.

"When there is nobody around to impress, I'm Kate."

"No can do. You see if my Mother every caught me calling another lady by her first name she would certainly box my ears. Since my Mother has excellent hearing, you are going have to accept that I'm going to call you Mrs. Castleton," he grinned.

"Hi Tom," said Karl holding out his hand.

"Karl. I'm glad you drove the boss lady. When she comes by herself I get nervous." Despite the fact that Karl had fought in the Pacific and Tom was of Japanese ancestry there was not an iota of animosity between them. To Karl Tom was as American as he was and Tom thought the land of ancestors made a huge mistake when they attacked his home.

"Me too," Karl confessed as he dropped the handshake and started to walk away from Tom and Kate. Over the steady breeze he heard them taking about 'topsoil depth' 'soil pH' 'average mean temperature' 'average number of sunny days' and other things. As Karl walked a thousand things popped into his mind. When he returned he could not help but admire what the wind had done to Kate's cheeks and what it was doing to her hair.

"Karl Castleton I know that look," teased Kate. "Talk to me before your brain fries."

"These are rocky hills."

"Hills yes," said Tom, "but only rocky in a few places. We are going adopt a Japanese agricultural technique. We are going to turn them into terrace gardens. Just like I proposed six-months ago." Tom had taken his idea to Kate a while back because he was impressed with what the Castleton's had done for their workers and the fact they were in the midst of changing the irrigation systems to conserve water and to better deliver water to the plants. He thought that they were forward thinkers and would welcome new ideas. He had been delighted when Kate had invited him down to the Mark to discuss his proposal. He was surprised when he was offered a retainer to develop the concept, and the conditional contract he had been offered was a little light in the salary department but extremely generous in the profit sharing area.

"We will break the land up into production areas. Each of the areas will be sculpted to have no more than a five degree grade. We will lose no more than five percent of the surface area but we will be turning land people think is worthless into producing working fields."

"Drainage?"

"Drainage tiles."

"What are they?"

"They help the water drain away from the roots of the plants so they won't rot."

"Speaking of that, water?"

"The water table is between seventy-five and a hundred feet down. We have a nice steady breeze so we will use wind power to move the water up to the top of the hill, and will let gravity help us move it back down the hill."

"And it will have an electric backup," added Kate.

"Heavy Equipment?"

"Only for the terrace construction and tile placement."

"Maintenance of the terrace walls and tiles?"

"We can get by with smaller machines."

"Labor?"

"With a decent wage scale we can pull all of the daily workers we need from Chinatown. I'm sure we can find and train the people we need for the processing center."

"Roads?"

"Barely adequate. After a couple of seasons we should be able to go to the council to improve them. What are you Mrs. Castleton's straight man?"

"He is my EVERYTHING MAN," said Kate with a voice and a look that Karl would cherish forever.

"One last question. How are you going to prevent them," asked Castle pointing to flock of mewing sea gulls circling above, "from eating every berry?"  
"I'm going to need a net."

"Segmented," added Kate

"On rollers.

"Tom I want you to make a change to the contract we offered you. Add three thousand to your salary. You are going to earn it because I think I can buy another sixty-five acres. …Tom I don't mean to pressure you but I need to have the contract signed before I buy the land."

"I …. I accept. I'll deliver it to your hotel before six."

"Good, you are on the payroll starting tomorrow. I'll drop by your father's store to give you your signing bonus. Tomorrow we can go land shopping."

Karl had to take liberties with the speed limits in order to make it to the restaurant in time for lunch. When they walked in and saw the décor and felt the atmosphere the place possessed they asked themselves why they had never been here before. Between the view of the Bay and the 'Old San Francisco' décor the place was charming and lovely. The lunch time menu was primarily soups, salads, and sandwiches, which fit the Castleton's appetite. Kate asked for the diner menu and the wine list. It was primarily seafood, but had enough other dishes to keep Karl interested. She was disappointed in the wine list. The Miller Red's were well represented, but the White's were no were to be seen. She made a mental note to talk to the sales rep for this area and ask him to correct this.

Being that is was the end of the lunch crunch, and the murder up the hill was still a hot topic, Karl and Kate could play tourist and ask innocent sounding questions. Karl had to choke down a laugh when he heard Kate ask in a wide-eyed voice, "Do celebrities eat here?"

They learned that on the night of the murder the Mayor, his Chief of Staff and their wives hosted the Owner, Coach and several players of the new baseball team coming to town. At the best table in the house was the maestro of the San Francisco Orchestra. Near him was the producer of the weekly drama series hosted on the radio. By the fireplace was the richer than God real estate and construction guy, nobody wants to serve his table because he was a lousy tipper. When the staff had finished they noticed that Kate's Dad's friend, Tom McHenry had not been mentioned. Karl left a good tip. The food was good, the service excellent and the information outstanding.

Kate was surprised when Karl purposely unbuttoned the top button of his jacket and let it fly open a little. 'Ah', she thought. 'We need to ask some people some questions and a little basic passive intimidation can't hurt.' She was not surprised that it was the Maître d'. She watched the man's eyes widen then narrow as Karl approached. When they were three steps away they stopped and she watched Karl look down and feign surprise as he re-buttoned his jacket. 'Threat veiled,' thought Kate. 'This means he is using the straight forward friendly approach.'

"Maitre d' Callahan," started Karl. "I would like to ask you a few questions if I could. I am Karl Castleton and this is my wife Kate, You see Thomas McHenry has asked us to look into the murder of his dinner companion Mary Ann Michaels. He doesn't think the police are acting quickly enough. He definitely wants the killer caught. I talked with Detectives Sanchez and O'Riley this morning and they admit they are stuck. Could you help us out? "

"I've already told the Police everything."

"No one is saying otherwise," Karl said in a smooth calm voice.

Finally he shrugged and said, "Okay then how can I help you?"

"You told the Police that you put her in a Yellow Cab."

"Yes I did and I don't know how she got to the top of the hill when she did. She must have asked the cab driver to stop at the bottom of the hill and take that trail up to the top."

"You didn't see the cab stop?"

"That's right I put her in the cab then came back inside. She was upset, but appeared to be in control of herself. "

"Do you remember anybody else leaving around the same time?"

"If they did then I would not be able to tell you. You see as soon as I got back to my station the Mayor's party was leaving."

"And of course you concentrated on them." The look on the Maitre ds face said it all.

"Do you remember Mr. Jacobs, the real-estate guy leaving after the Mayor?" asked Kate.

"Yes," Mr. Callahan responded. As a result of Kate's questioning they had eliminated all but three of the people the staff had named.

"Thank you," said Karl as he deftly slipped the Maitre d' a twenty. 'After all if we come back here I do want a good table' he thought. As they exited the restaurant the Castleton's turned right and headed down the hill instead of across the street to their car and the normal path up the hill. At the bottom of the hill they turned right. Fifty yards later they turned right again and walked across the parking lot to the sign marking the beginning of the path to the top of Strawberry Hill.

As they started up the path Kate noticed Karl check his watch. "Timing this are we?" she mock teased.

"Remember she was in an evening dress," cautioned Karl.

"You don't know how fast I can move my ass," said Kate."Even in an evening dress."

"Have I ever told you how much I enjoy watching you move your ...Hey! What was that for?" His arm suddenly smarting from a pinch.

"You're working now," said Kate "You need to stay focused."

"I was focused," Karl responded. "I was focused on your …Hey," as his arm smarted yet again. Karl glanced at Kate and the smile on her face made the discomfort he was felling vanish immediately.

"Focus I got it," he said. As they continued their walk up the path Karl knew that there two sets of eyes looking for things out of the ordinary. This was because Kate had a secret life. A secret life that not even her family knew of. She had become a mystery novelist. During her freshman year in college she had written a short story in English Composition Class. It was good, and she liked doing it. By the end of her sophomore year she was selling her stuff commercially under a pseudonym.

From their time in New York together, Karl knew that Kate was secretly a writer. He also knew she had great powers of observation, paid tremendous attention to the details, had a tremendous imagination, and was a great story teller. From what he had seen she had applied all of these skills, plus her keen business sense and education into the family business with tremendous results.

"This isn't one of your story's Kate. No one is going to pop out of the trees and ambush us," teased Karl.

Kate stiffened for a moment then continued walking. 'I need to start writing again. I have been away too long. I understand the company now. It is up and running well. I can delegate a few things to free up some time. YES! I am going to do it.' She gave Karl's arm a gentle squeeze. 'Thanks babe,' she thought.

One of the things they did learn is that heard couples coming down the path long before they could see them. This means that the killer could easily hide and move on down the path when the coast was clear and remain unseen especially at night. Near the top they joined the path that originated in the other Parking lot. 'This complicates things a little bit,' thought Karl. 'The killer could leave the restaurant, get into their car drive to the other lot get out climb up here kill the girl and it would only take thirty minutes, ' as he checked his watch as they reached the top.' Less if he hurried up and down. '

The view from the top of the Strawberry Hill was fantastic, the bridge, the Bay and the ocean. Kate shivered and leaned into Karl. The wind had freshened and the temperature had dropped. What little sun there was once again hiding behind the afternoon's clouds. As they approached the bench in front of which Mary Ann had been found. They each replayed a possible scenario in their own minds. For Karl it was a hurried rendezvous, followed by an argument, that maybe turned into a lovers kiss and then a deadly embrace as the killer strangled her. A low growl escaped his throat.

Kate's vision of the events was essential the same as Karl's when she heard his growl she leaned in harder and kissed him on the check. She knew that the Karl hated murders with a passion and she needed to distract him before it took complete control.

Karl pulled Kate into a fierce hug and passionate kiss that only stopped when they heard another couple talking deliberately loud. Smiling and waving Kate and Karl moved off toward another bench that afforded a place to sit out of the wind and still offer an excellent view.

"This could be the best make out place ever," Karl whispered.

"You said that about the Staten Island Ferry, and that bridge over the water in Central Park, and the gazebo down by the river, "complained Kate.

"You know what each of those places have in common don't you?...You," as he subtly checked his surroundings and pulled Kate close for another kiss. Finally they broke settled back on the bench side by side, Kate's right arm locked into Karl's left and her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly enjoying each other and the view.

"What's next?" asked Kate.

"I guess we search her apartment and look for a connection to someone else other than Tom."

"You are right this could be the best make out place ever. I wonder what the view is like at night."

'We will find out before we go home,' he promised himself. Pushing off the bench he stood and offered his had to Kate. Slowly arm and arm they walked down the other path toward their car.

The drive back to the Mark was less stressful than the drive from the fields. Karl once again asked that the tank be filled and the car be ready in the morning. The Doorman frowned when the Castleton's moved toward the taxi queue. "China town," Karl offered when he saw the Doorman's look.

"Ah, Good choice sir. At this time of the day you would be forever trying to find parking."

They got out of the cab at the northern edge of Chinatown. Mary Ann's apartment was four blocks away. They turned their backs on the sights, sounds, and smells of Chinatown for the moment and went in search of a clue to a young woman's killer. After two blocks they turned left, after another block they turned right. After another block they spotted the apartment building and the small park it was adjacent to.

'What a great location,' thought Kate. 'It's close enough to China town to shop and eat, and yet far enough away to be quiet, and the park is lovely. No wonder Tom bought the building. '

They got of the elevator and went down the hall to room five-zero-seven. The building was well maintained and had the feel of togetherness, unlike so many of the other apartment buildings they had visited. They were surprised that the door did not have a seal of the SFPD. Karl listened hard for a moment then used the key and cautiously opened the door.

The opened onto a good sized open space. The combination kitchen and dining area was to their left. Straight in front of them was a large living space that was tastefully furnished in traditional furniture in natural colors. Karl did a tour while Kate headed straight for the secretary.

Breakfast dishes in the sink, not much in the ice box, milk and eggs and some left overs. 'This close to Chinatown she probably did her shopping daily, and who can blame her.' The second bedroom held a bed, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, and a desk with a typewriter. 'Interesting' thought Karl. From the clothes sizes and styles she had at least two regular male guests. Searching the desk he found a working manuscript, numerous rejection letters from a publishing house, but on the wall was a framed letter with her first acceptance. 'I wonder what type of author she is,' thought Karl. Walking back into the main room he appreciated the colors and smells of the flowers, 'they need water, he thought. He grabbed the watering can, filled it up and gave each plant a much need drink. Setting the can back down, he walked over to Kate, gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "What did you find?"

"She graduated from Sanford with a degree in English Lit." ,said Kate pointing to the diploma on the wall over the secretary. "From her pay stubs I see that she works at the radio station," Kate continued. One link Karl thought. "Her bank book shows an impressive balance." Karl looked and agreed. Mary Ann could live comfortably for several years on that amount. "I didn't find a diary, but I did find her appointment book. It had three recurring names Ken, Rob and Tom. "

"She is an author. I found her work desk in the other room. That could account for some of the bank balance. I also found clothes for two men in the spare bedroom," added Karl. "Perhaps we'll find the third set in the master bedroom."

"We know Tom of course. Ken was the name of the radio producer. Perhaps he is her boss, but who the hell is Rob? From the book, it looks like Rob was a recent person in her life. An author? That's another thing we need to track down. "

"Yes, anything else?"

"No, no diary, no letters or other types of correspondence. Oh, she does have a pass to this season of the San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra. It was paid for by the radio station. You think Kate asked?"

"I guess we have to ask," Karl responded.

In the master bedroom they discovered the third set of men's clothing. "She shops smart," Kate said with respect. "Top of the line looks without the prices." In the bottom drawer they found her real jewelry box. She had several nice diamond earrings, a couple of strands of pearls, a nice gold bracelet, and several fashionable cocktail rings. When they finally looked at her picture they were surprised at her oriental ancestry and concluded that she was an intelligent, successful, and beautiful young woman.

"Mary Ann," Karl asked out loud. "Who would want to kill you?"

Kate came close grabbed his arm and gave a gentle but forceful squeeze. "That is exactly what we are going to find out."

As they left the building Kate looked to her left, at the Park. It felt lonely. A short while ago it had been filled with the sounds of play and laughter. Now it was empty. All of its inhabitants had been called home to supper. "Come on Karl," Kate teased. "When was the last you pushed a girl on a swing?"

For the several minutes Kate and Karl were kids again and played on the swings. Playtime over they headed toward the park exit closest to Chinatown. Walking arm in arm and oblivious to the world, Karl stiffened suddenly and his head snapped up. Their way was blocked by four Chinese looking men. "Get them," their leader growled.

Karl pushed Kate behind him, landed a kick to the solar plexus of the first thug that attacked them, temporarily putting him out of the fight. He reached for his gun, only to have it knocked from his hand. He launched himself at the nearest thug, scoring several times before absorbing a blow on his shoulder. He recovered and stepped back in a position to protect Kate. He stopped dead when he heard his gun go off.

Kate kept her balance as Karl shoved her out of immediate danger. She watched Karl's gun go flying and land at her feet. She calmly picked it up and clicked off the safety. She looked around aimed and fired into a decorative railroad tie. The crack of the gun was reduced to a pop by the surrounding trees. The noise still had the desired effect. All of the fighting stopped and all eyes, except Karl's turned toward her. She raised the weapon and into a practiced and comfortable two handed shooters stance. Kate unwaveringly pointed the gun at midsection of the leader.

"Right now you are probably asking yourself several questions," began Kate in a soft clear voice that seemed to fill the entire park. "You are asking yourself can she handle a gun and can she hit what she is aiming at. That's a twofer really but I will answer it anyway. I've been hunting jackrabbits from horseback with a twenty-two with my Dad since I was eight. We always came home with meat for the pot. So yeah I can handle a gun and hit what I'm aiming at. Ah, you say she is holding a short barrel thirty-eight not a twenty-two. Well if I was holding my twenty-two I would be aiming to take your eye out. We both know that this short barrel thing isn't very accurate. That is why I am aiming at your sternum. At this range I am not going to miss."

"But the thirty-eight doesn't have much stopping you say. When the bullet hits the sternum it will shatter it. The bones shards will pierce your heart, lungs and most of your major organs. You will die. Not immediately, but you will die. And there is nothing a surgeon can do to prevent it."

"Your next question is probably along the lines of 'do I have the will to shot another human being.' We left eight dead and two critically wounded when the first group of idiots tried to kidnap me. So yeah I will shoot to kill if I need to, and this looks like one of the times."

"Your last question probably is what am I going to do next? That's easy, nothing. Now that my husband knows I'm safe he can stop fighting defensively. So I'm going to sit back and watch him kick your collective asses. Afterwards we will go eat dinner in Chinatown and if we remember we might call an ambulance for you."

The leader was in shock. No woman had every addressed him like that before. There was no denying it. His lord had tasked him with the job of making anyone who entered the lady's apartment pay for the insult to her memory and he had failed. Despite their numbers and the advantage of surprise they had failed. A foreigner and his woman had fought them to a standstill. Without the gun he knew that his Team would be successful, but…. With a hand gesture he had his men drop back a step and he himself retreated out of Karl's 'jump strike reach.' He watched Kate shift with small steps and even smaller hand movements to keep him lined up and despite himself he was impressed.

"What were you doing in the lady's apartment?" asked the Leader?

"She was murdered. We came seeking a clue so that we can find the killer and bring them to justice," answered Karl.

"Your justice system is too weak," sneered the leader.

"I do not care what justice is visited upon the murder," snarled Karl in return. "I don't care if the murderer rots in prison, whether the street claims him, or your lord visits him with final justice. I want him to pay for his crime."

Karl's comments allowed the leader to hope that he may have a way out of this predicament and one where he would not have to atone for his failure. He had risen fast to the rank of Lieutenant. He was good with his fists, precise with a knife and quick with his wits. Perhaps he could bring his lord an ally instead of a tale of how they punished intruders. "Why?"

"A business associate of my wife's father asked for our help. What is your lord's interest in the lady?"

"Who am I to know my lord's thinking," came the automatic response. "A family connection, a business obligation, and these things my lord will understand. I can say this. My lord also seeks the killer of the lady."

Karl nodded and then said, "My name is Karl Castleton and this is my wife Kate and I have a proposal for your lord. We both seek the same thing. Let us look for the killer unhindered. We can look in places where perhaps he cannot. In return we ask that if you find him you tell us. That way we know not to offend him by continuing to look."

Very foolish and brave to offer your name. We would have found out soon enough, but still very brave and foolish, thought the leader. His thoughts were interrupted by the groan of the soldier that Karl had kicked in the stomach. The Leader saw the momentary flash of triumph in Karl's eyes. In another place and time I will test your mettle Karl Castleton, thought the leader, but not on my lord's business.

Karl backed away and gestured toward the downed man with his right hand. The intent was clear. This man is yours take him.

With a gesture the Leader summoned his men forward. "I will take your words to by lord. If you decide to dine in Chinatown might I suggest the 'Lion's Den'. You will find the food and entertainment excellent. You will be watched to be sure, but you will not be harmed. On that I can pledge my lords' word." And in an instant they had picked up their man and were retreating toward Chinatown.

"Well babe I see you haven't forgotten how to show a lady a good time," remarked Kate as she slowly lowered the hammer of the gun, re-engaged the safety, and stuck the gun back into his holster.

"It's still early," Karl responded with a grin. "What till you see the encore."

"Oh, what's next?"

Karl moved Kate around so that she was on his right side. Kate immediately put her left arm around his right and as they exited the park and headed for Chinatown Karl said, "How about a little bit of shopping? I want to find something for Alex, then dinner of course. Afterwards we would pop back to the hotel, I'll drop my gun in the box and then I will take you to a small jazz club a couple of blocks away. If the quintet is good, the dance floor not too crowded, and I find my courage, I will ask my lady to dance."

"Let's see," said Kate with a touch of laughter "we hiked off breakfast, mountain climbed off lunch and now we are going to dance off dinner. Sounds like fun."

Karl bent down to kiss the offered check. Cherries he thought. Even at the end of the day Kate smells like cherries.

The atrium of the Lion's Den was crowded to overflowing. It's going to be a long wait, thought Karl. When the Maître d told the couple in front of them, "at least an hour Sir," he was resigned to the fact they would not go dancing tonight. When he and Kate stepped-up the Maître d surprised them when he said, "Mr. and Mrs. Castleton your table is ready. Please follow Bik. She will guide you there. Bik was a vision of loveliness. She was short, but well proportioned. Her jade colored cheongsam fit her body like a glove. She wore no makeup that Karl could tell and her hair was piled high on her head and held there by chopsticks. Her movements where daft and pleasant to watch. Karl decided that Kate would look great in that type of dress.

The table that she led them to was on the second level. The stage / dance floor was covered with dancers dancing to the music provided by a twenty piece orchestra. When Kate opened her menu she gave a small screech of delight.

"Karl close your menu. Tonight I'm ordering for you. Trust me."

"With my life and love," said Karl, but not my stomach he thought. As a kid Karl ate anything his parents could put on the table. After he left the Marine Corps he was a five meat person, bacon and sausage for breakfast, and chicken, ham and beef for everything else. He only hoped that Kate's choices weren't too exotic.

The clam chowder wasn't too bad, potato soup with some kind of meat. The look he got from Kate as he ate the raw oysters was comical. Karl hated to admit it but he really did enjoy the tiger prawns. Coffee and desert had just been served when the Castleton's noticed three men approaching their table. At about ten paces the two body guards stopped and a Chinese gentleman in exquisitely tailored evening wear continued his approach.

"Mr. and Mrs. Castleton may I join you?"

Karl, who had risen at his approach waved the man to a seat. "Coffee?"

"No thank you," the mysterious man replied. "My name is unimportant. I stopped by to tell you that I agree to your proposal."

Karl nodded his understanding and asked "May I ask you why the girl is special to you?"

"That is not your concern. I came in person because my Lieutenant said your wife is as beautiful and fierce as a Snow Leopard. I had to see this for myself. …How on earth did you ever capture her?"

"He didn't capture me," Kate hissed in a low, cold, strong voice and her green eyes blazing. "I captured him and the fight he put up would have done a Dragon proud."

The triad lord looked shocked. For like his Lieutenant, he was unused to a woman talking to him in that tone of voice. After a moment he laughed gently and smiled. "My Lieutenant understated both your beauty and ferocity. Dinner was my treat. If you wish please stay and enjoy the show. Good night."

Karl finished his coffee as he waited for Kate to calm down. When she caught his eye, he rose, left a generous tip and together they left the Lion Den. As intriguing as the show sounded, Karl wanted to listen to some jazz and dance with Kate.

The jazz club was bigger than it appeared on the outside, fashionably dim, and the tables closely spaced. Tonight must have been a slow night because the club was less than half full. "Two drink minimum," announced the waitress, "each."

"Single malt scotch, neat," said Kate without hesitation. "Soda water," added Karl.

"It has to be a drink Sir," said the bored waitress.

"Look charge me for the single malt, but bring me the soda."

"What happens if I slip up and bring you the whiskey?"

"He becomes mean and cranky and you lose any chance at all of earning a tip sweetie," replied Kate.

By the time the drinks arrived the Castleton's discovered that the quintet, piano, bass, drums, saxophone and clarinet, was quite good. Occasionally the clarinetist would switch to a saxophone. At the end of the third song the Castleton's took the dance floor. Kate's Mother had insisted that Kate learn to dance and Kate was very surprised when she discovered how well Karl could dance. They were both natural athletes and shared an unbelievable chemistry and on the dance floor and it showed. They moved and flowed as one. On any given night they could put most professional dance pairs to shame and tonight was one of those nights. Maybe it was quintet, or the appreciative crowd, or the fact that the Castleton's had faced and survived a dangerous situation, because tonight the Castleton's passion for life infused their dancing. By the end of their second dance they had the floor to themselves. People were mesmerized by their power, grace, and the love they obviously had for each other. As they were walking off the dance floor, the quintet started the last song of the set, one of Karl's and Kate's favorites, Stardust. They stayed on the floor and finished the dance with a kiss. They hurried back to their table, left a tip among the undrunk drinks, collected their jackets and headed back to their hotel. Later that night Karl couldn't stop laughing when Kate told him the reputed properties of oysters.

**Chapter 8 A day without Castle is a day without…[Day 4 Sunday]**

**At the 12th**

Kate arrived at the 12th a little bit early, stowed her jacket and purse, grunted in disgust at the murder board and went to the break room to make a cup of coffee. She was soon joined by the rest of her Team.

"Why do we have to wait till Monday?" asked Ryan.

"Considering what they do and produce, I'm thinking the theft was of classified material and some ducks need to be placed in a row," speculated Esposito.

"So we think our victim unknowing watched a classified heist, got himself noticed, and they came back the next night to tie up a lose end?" summarized Kate.

"Yeah," said Esposito. "You found nothing in his old cases. We found nothing in his recent history, and the Parking Garage is a bust." Esposito held up his hand, "I know we have twenty-three names left to clear. But I'm saying it's going to be a bust."

"How's Castle," asked Ryan.

"Last day in LA. They move on to San Francisco tonight. He had dinner with Meredith and Gina last night."

"Ballsy," commented Esposito.

"He thought if he had dinner with both he would be alone with neither I wouldn't worry as much."

"Did it work?"

"No," admitted Kate. "But I know Castle knows how to say no, and will. That's enough. Dinner must have worked out okay. I mean I have no calls from the LAPD or a hospital. Okay enough is enough. Let's divide up the names and prove to ourselves that we are on square one and losing ground fast."

That thought sobered the Team. They knew that as more time elapsed, the chance of them finding anything decreased almost exponentially, and it was already day four.

Captain Gates got off of the elevator at a little before one in the afternoon like she did every Sunday. Before she made it to the Bull-Pen she knew things were not going well for her A-Team. She watched Beckett's head look in her direction. She watched Beckett say something and she and the rest of her Team get up and head in her direction. This will be short, she thought.

"Sir," began Beckett "About tomorrow…"

"That is as soon as I could arrange it Detective. I can't comment on it yet. I take it you are at brick wall?"

"A very large and solid wall Sir," affirmed Esposito.

"Paraphrasing an old Sherlock Homes quote, when you eliminate everything else what's left is it. Sir we have eliminated everything else."

"A Sherlock Homes quote," teased the Captain. "That is something I would expect from Mr. Castle."

"Oh. He's here Sir, even though he is in LA," said Detective Beckett with a look of pain on her face that quickly vanished.

"Then I suggest a break to clear your heads and maybe a new thread will come to you. Otherwise I suggest you practice patience."

"Thank you Sir," they all chorused.

On the way back to their desks Esposito suggested "Lunch then the range?"

"You guys go ahead," said Kate. "I'm so frustrated that my shots would be all over the target. I think I will try to punch a heavy bag into submission. "

"We did that yesterday," confessed Ryan. "It only helps for a little while."

Kate dressed and entered the empty exercise area. For a split-second she waited for Castle to come out of the men's locker room." He's in LA," she verbalized. She checked the clock on the wall. Seven-thirty in the morning in LA, maybe he's doing his workout. Kate convinced herself that her shadow was behind her and threw herself totally into the routines.

"What did that heavy bag ever do to you?" asked a familiar voice.

"It won't answer by questions LT," said Kate as she finished off a three strike and two kick combo. "What are you doing here?"

"I got the four to one AM shift and I thought I would get a workout end before it started. Normally at the end of this shift all I want to do is crawl into a bed and sleep for a week."

"Even Sunday night?"

"Sunday night is light," He agreed. "Mid-week is sure panic and Saturday night an absolute killer…. How is your case coming?"

"That's why I'm punching the bag."

The LT nodded knowingly, as he moved to the other side of the room and started his pre-exercise stretching routines.

Showered and once again in her work clothes, Kate sat at her desk eating her lunch of yogurt, baby carrots and apple slices. She had just finished her last apple slice when she felt a presence behind her, Captain Gates. Kate watched the Captain's eyes flick from her to the murder board and back.

"Honestly Sir, we have nothing. We have no forensics, no motive, and they have not made a mistake."

"Oh, they made a mistake alright Detective, " said Captain Gates with conviction. "They killed a person in our jurisdiction and they let me assign you to the case. I'm confident that you will track them down and bring them to justice, " with a pat on the shoulder Captain Gates left the precinct.

**Kate and Rick with Rick in San Francisco**

"….and we really have nothing babe."

"Well tomorrow's meeting could be interesting."

"I only hope it helps….How was dinner?"

"Surprisingly cordial. I won't invite either one of them to join us for Christmas dinner. But dinner went surprisingly well….I asked the audience what they wanted me to read and they chose the same section."

"You know I think we should rehearse that section."

"Really? That's great. The next time I do a reading in NYC we can…"

"Reading. No. That's not what I in mind," said Kate in a soft and sexy voice.

"Oh, …assuming we are out of jail from the indecent exposure charges, our next reading session will probably be jam packed. Perhaps we should insist on a cover charge."

"Castle!" Kate exclaimed as she broke into laughter. "I do love you, you know."

"How could I not," responded Rick in a soft voice.

"When you get back we need to talk."

"Whatever I did I'm sorry," Castle said immediately.

"Babe?"

"Look whenever you say 'We need to talk' it's because I did something wrong or you are thinking about leaving me. You aren't leaving me are you?"

"No babe. Nothing can pry me from your side. You have done nothing needing an apology, in fact it's wonderful. It still is important and we do need to talk."

"As if I need another reason to hurry home," said Castle, the harshness in his voice easily overridden by the love in his eyes.

"Tomorrow Babe."

"Tomorrow Love….And I have been exercising. "

"Good! Love you Babe."

**Chapter 9 Karl and Kate A murderer revealed …almost**

The Castleton's awoke at their normal time. They put on sweat clothes on over their swimsuits and went down to the pool. Karl learned to swim in the Corps. Then it was a matter of survival. Now it was another way to get his exercise besides running. Kate learned to swim when she was young and had always loved it she was a graceful and strong swimmer. In a race of less than fifty yards she would always beat Karl. If the race was longer than that then Karl's strength and endurance would win out.

Today she swam two laps, waited for Karl to catch up then swam two more. After a half mile they stopped, did their stretching routine then returned to their room.

After their shower, when Kate entered the sitting room she was disappointed that Karl's eyes' did not light up. Instead he looked her up and down and said, "You look like a proper company president." Walking toward her he stopped about a step away, leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose, and continued in a low voice. "Underneath that disguise I know my Kate still exists. When she resurfaces, her husband will be ready…..I would lose the feather in the hat though. I would replace it with a flower or a couple of small flowers."

"What type?"

"How should I know? The only thing I know about flowers is the beautiful one I married," he exclaimed. The smile Kate gifted him warmed his heart.

"Plans?" asked Karl after they had ordered breakfast.

"I'm taking Tom his copy of the contract and his signing bonus over to his father's place and then heading to the real estate broker. With how much I'm buying, he should spring for lunch. So I will probably be back around one. You?"

"I think I will go back and talk to the Detectives first and then pop in on Ken Daily the radio guy. I'll try to be back my one. If not I'll leave a message for you at the front desk." As they were finishing their second cup of coffee the Concierge came in with an envelope for Karl. "Change of plans. The blackmailer has published his demands and delivery instructions so I need to go to the lawyer's office first. Whatever my plans are I'll leave you a message at the front desk."

"Be careful," said Kate with genuine concern in her voice. "I get nervous when I'm not with you."

"You bet," he replied. "Last night my dance partner promised me a very special dance, and I mean to collect. Shall we?" he asked as he held out his hand and watched Kate smile and her cheeks turn a delicate shade of pink.

**Karl**

Karl deposited Kate in the cab and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. He contemplated calling for his car, but decided against it and took the next cab. The law offices of Cash, Kennedy, and Conrad were downtown right on the edge of the financial district. Checking the building directory Karl saw that the firm occupied the thirty through the thirty-five floors. The thirty-third floor was listed as the lobby area. As he got off the elevator he saw solid, old oak furniture in excellent repair, and the walls held old and tasteful oils. An old and successful firm, Karl thought. As he opened the door he fell immediately under the gaze of two receptionists. By their manner and appearance Karl suspected that even a full Combat Engineer Division would have a hard time breaching the roadblocks these two could construct.

"Karl Castleton for Austin Conrad. I do believe I am expected."

"Of course you are Sir. Let me contact his Personnel Assistant. She will be able to conduct you to his office."

"Thanks," he said as he shuffled off down a side hallway admiring the art.

"Mr. Castleton?" said a small cute as a button petit blonde with a voice like an angle and the eyes of a combat veteran. "This way please," she said as she briskly lead him into the elevators, plugged in her key and pressed the button for the thirty-fifth floor. "May I bring you some coffee?"

"No Miss …"

"Mrs. Robinson. "

"No Mrs. Robinson. I'm sure you have other things to do besides fetch coffee." Karl saw her eyes flash and wondered what he had said that would cause such a reaction. Mrs. Robinson knocked and then opened the conference room door for Karl.

"You made good time," said Counselor Conrad.

"We had just finished breakfast and were on our way out the door," he replied. "What's the play?"

"The blackmailer wants us to put a check for two thousand dollars in an envelope, and place the envelope into a post office box in the branch near Chinatown no sooner than two-thirty and no later than three o'clock today," read Tom McHenry.

"Really? This is amateur hour. Don't they know we could go to the Post Office and get the box owners' name and address?"

"I guess not."

"What will this money buy us?"

"The note didn't say"

"Okay, what is our play?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Notify the authorities of the demand. Suggest that they let you play it out and once the check is in the blackmailer's possession swoop in for the collar."

"But the publicity…"

"Can't be helped. With luck it will be buried in the metro section and your named would not be mentioned, just that a 'black mail attempt against a prominent local business man' failed."

"Okay," said Tom. "Karl, one other thing. Could you deliver the envelope?"

"Sure. You can give it to me now or send it over to the hotel. What I plan to do is scout the place and then go and talk to a pair of Detectives I know. I'm reasonably sure they will jump at a chance of picking up a quick and easy collar."

A short wait and a cab ride later Karl walked into the Post Office with the ransom check in his jacket pocket. He was not surprised that the Post Office was less than three blocks away from Mary Ann's place.

As he walked through the revolving door he felt a touch of nostalgia. This was an ancient Post Office. The plaque said it was established in the 1850's and it looked like a mixture of the old and the new. Sharing the atrium with the Post Office was a General Merchandise Store and a Soda Fountain. That's how it probably started, surmised Karl. The Post Office leased space in the General Store and is continuing to do so. Karl checked the box location, proved to himself that the code worked and looked around. No one seemed to be paying him a bit of attention. He also saw that if he sat at one of the Soda Fountain tables he would have an unobstructed view of the box. 'What could be better,' he thought, 'than being on a stakeout and sharing ice cream with Kate.'

Karl's next cab ride deposited him at the Police Station. "Go on up Castleton. I will let them know you are coming up," said the Desk Sergeant. When Karl got to the top of the stairs he saw O'Riley waving him into the same conference room that they used yesterday.

"What have you got," asked Sanchez as he placed a cup of coffee in front of Karl.

Karl told them about what they found in Mary Ann's apartment and asked if they knew anything about 'Rob'. He intentionally did not speak of the triad connection. After a negative headshake he launched into the black mail scheme.

"What I really want is for you let Kate and I do the stake out. We follow the person who picks up the mail and you follow us. You will already know where the black mailer lives and their name," said Karl. "This way we nab them in their home with the check. It doesn't get any tighter than that."

"Why not nab them now or on the street?" asked O'Riley.

"If we nab them now we have no real proof. If we nab them in the house with the check then we get to look around and she if they have other scams cooking," said Sanchez. "This is a good play. I think the Captain will go for it."

For the second time today the cab dropped Karl downtown. When he walked into the lobby of the radio station he heard jazz coming from the loudspeakers. The cute as a button brunet receptionist walked Karl back to Mr. Daily's office. Mr. Daily was wearing a white shirt with his sleeves rolled up, a dark green vest, a rep tie, and had a pipe clinched between his teeth. His sport jacket was hanging on the clothes tree. "What can I do for you?"

Karl noticed the number of manuscripts stacked on his desk, on his bookshelves, and stacks of them on the floor. He thought some of them had Mary Ann's name on them. "I'm a Private Investigator and I've been hired to investigate the death of Mary Ann Michaels." Karl watched Ken looked down for a moment then back up at Karl.

"I don't kill her. I'm in love with her. I asked her to marry me."

"That's strange," said Karl. "She wasn't wearing an engagement ring when she died and we searched her apartment we didn't fine one."

"I guessed wrong on her size," he said. " I took it back to the jewelry store and had it resized. I….I just picked it up." He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a ring. "This is the only thing I have left of her," he started to sob.

"I hate to ask…."

"On the night she died I knew she was with Tom McHenry. She was going to tell him they were through. I was here. We were doing live, on-air theater. I have around thirty witnesses," he croaked.

"Do you know if Mary Ann knew someone named Rob?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"We found his name in her appointment book."

Karl could tell that Ken was dismayed by the revelation. "Go just go," he said.

'I don't have to check his alibi. He didn't do it," Karl thought. "Crap" he vocalized as he checked his watch 'if I don't move it I'm going to be late for my date.' Karl easily talked the receptionist into letting him use the phone for a local call. After leaving a message for Kate he hurried out in search of a cab.

**Kate**

Kate sat back in the cab and looked at her watch, twelve-thirty. She would be at the hotel in plenty of time. The morning had been a huge success. The look on Tom Lei's face when she handed him his copy of the signed contract and his signing bonus was fantastic. They briefly talked strategy and agreed the best play would be to buy as much land as they could and use the profits from the first couple of seasons to finish the development.

From the beginning Kate controlled the real estate negotiations. Her Dad had been an excellent teacher and she had learned her lessons well. She made it clear that the purchase of any parcel was contingent on her being able to purchase all of the parcels, and that was contingent on the aggregate cost. The realtor, seeing the chance for a quick and easy substantial fee, helped Kate work over the sellers and by ten-thirty the deal was done. The land survey, and other closing details were easily scheduled, and Kate enjoyed and early lunch at the agents' expense. Now she was headed back to the hotel. One task done, she thought,' now we can finish the second one. I'll call Dad and have him come over with Alex. He and Tom can finish the planning for the first batch of fields, and Karl and I get to introduce Alex to San Francisco.'

The Day Manager saw Kate enter the lobby. He quickly snatched the envelope and moved to intercept her. Kate saw him coming and adjusted her course accordingly. Kate accepted the envelope with a nod and a small smile. When she read it her face burst into a huge grin with clashed with the business clothes she was wearing.

"You are cordially invited to a Stake Out. Refreshments will be served. Pick-up time is One-Fifteen. Dress like My Kate and like we are going on a date, because we are."

"Thank you," she muttered as she headed toward the elevators. I have enough time she thought, barely as she looked at her watch again and hurried toward the elevators.

"Kate!" yelled Karl as he entered the suite.

"Bedroom love," came the immediately reply. Kate came out of the bathroom and saw her husband hurriedly put his gun away and start changing out of his suit and into more casual clothes. When he finally looked up and, unlike this morning, she saw the flash of appreciation in his eyes. She had chosen her blue denim skirt and pale yellow western style shirt. She had worn this outfit many times when Karl had taken her country and western dancing. It was stylish enough, comfortable enough, and she knew if she had to move fast or quick she could. She had danced long hours in these low-heeled boots so that would not be an issue. She knew if she had to kick or stomp someone's foot, it most definitely would hurt. The denim jacket provided the warmth she needed and protection from the pervasive wind. Instead of a hat she had chosen a light blue bandana to cover her hair.

"Date night it is," he said as he picked up an English style driving hat instead of the fedora he normally wore on business. He explained the situation in a low voice to Kate as he nuzzled her neck on the way to the Post Office.

When they arrived there, luck was with them. A couple was just leaving the table that provided the best view of the Post Office Box. Karl quickly sat Kate, decided to deviate from the instructions and placed his envelope in the box. Next he went to buy a couple of root beer floats.

Karl had positioned Kate in the position to watch the box. This allowed him to watch the entrance. He had barely sat down when Kate tapped him on the foot with her boot and began describing a man standing in front of the box. Karl was busy taking down Kate's description when she said. "Karl he is putting a letter into the box."

"Ballsy," muttered Karl in a low voice. "The blackmailer is black mailing several people. I wonder if we each have different times." Pretending to drop his napkin, Karl bent down to retrieve it and stole a glance at the gentlemen now standing in front of the closed box. A middle aged man of medium height, medium build, with thinning and graying hair, noted Karl. The cashmere overcoat did not hide the fact that he was wearing a well tailored blue-pin stripped suit, but the gray fedora prevents Karl from seeing any useable facial features.

A half hour later the scene was repeated by another middle aged gentleman wearing a business suit and a more conventional trench coat. The difference was that this gentlemen left a pair of goons to watch the box.

"My turn would be next," whispered Karl. "So if you need to powder your nose or stretch those beautiful legs of yours now would be the time."

"You say the most amazing things," said Kate as she smiled, got up and walked away. When she returned, Karl also took advantage of the situation, but when he returned he brought two more root beer floats with him.

"For our cover," he explained when Kate glared at him.

"You just want an excuse to drink another root beer float," hissed Kate.

"Guilty," said Karl as he used a spoon to slice off a chunk of ice cream and place it in his mouth. A short time later Kate tapped his foot again.

"A young woman, high school I think from her uniform and book bag," Kate said.

"Let's go," Karl urged as he rushed Kate out of the Post Office. "Look we she comes out you follow her and I will try to stop the goons."

Detectives Sanchez and O'Riley watched the Castleton's exit the Post Office and stop at the bottom of the steps.

"What are they doing?" asked O'Riley.

When Kate started following a red haired young woman in a Saint Bernard's High School uniform and carrying a book bag Sanchez said, "That's the mark, but what is Karl doing?" When he saw Karl move to intercept the goons that had just exited the Post Office and headed in the same direction as the girl he got it.

"Take some Blues and rescue Karl from the goons, and find out their story. I'll cut off the mark," said Sanchez.

Karl was not surprised when the goons ignored him and tried to walk through him. An awkward moment later he saw O'Riley and a pair of uniforms heading his way toward the goons and Sanchez's car take off in pursuit of Kate and the young woman. Karl smiled to himself and hurried to catch Kate.

When he arrived he heard the young woman say "… all I did was pick-up my grandma's mail like I do every school day. That can't be a crime." Despite being dressed in her school uniform Karl realized that this red haired blue eyed girl could grow into an extraordinarily beautiful young woman.

"It's not," said Sanchez, "But if you notice three of the envelopes do not have stamps and we need to talk to her about those. Where does your grandmother live?" asked Sanchez. "I'll drive ahead, and these two can walk with you."

"My name is Kate Castleton and this is my husband Karl," said Kate as she tried to put the young woman at ease.

"I'm Aaron. I know you," she said."I know I've seen your picture in the newspaper."

"I'm not famous sweetie, I just run a company. It is important that we talk to your grandma."

Karl was not surprised when the address she gave was that of the apartment right across from May Ann Michaels.

O'Riley arrived moments later and proclaimed that the goons had decided it was in there best interest to be elsewhere.

When they arrived at the apartment Karl nudged Kate and looked toward the park. One of their 'friends' from yesterday was clearly visible.

When Aaron's grandmother opened the door the group saw a silver-haired lady in her early seventies that when she was younger was probably a beauty. It became apparent that her Grandma had contributed to Aaron's good looks.

"Ma'am I'm Detective Sanchez and this is my partner Detective O'Riley."

"I'm…"

"You are Kate and Karl Castleton dear," she said. "You went into Mary's apartment yesterday afternoon. I'm Victoria. " Karl was momentarily stunned by the announcement then he thought he understood. Victoria was a lonely woman, and something of a busy body. Seeing a beautiful single young woman like Mary, Victoria was looking out for her. As long as it wasn't overbearing it could be kind of sweet. When he glanced at Kate he saw that she thought the same thing.

"Come on in. Please sit gentlemen. You are probably here because of the letters I asked the men to put into my mail box."

"Yes Ma'am," said Sanchez.

"I'm Victoria Detective," she corrected immediately.

"Victoria you do realize that is blackmail don't you?"

"I just asked them for money," she replied. "I didn't threaten them or anything," she replied immediately. "They can afford it, and besides now that Mary Ann was going to marry Ken they ought to leave her alone."

For a long moment there was silence. "Who did you ask for money?" asked Karl.

"Why Tom McHenry, Robert Thompson and Harold Smith of course."

Karl could see that the name of Robert Thompson stunned the Detectives.

"Yesterday we looked through Mary Ann's appointment book and we did not find any mention of Harold Smith," said Kate.

"Oh Harold and Rob used Mary's apartment for meetings all of the time. Like the day she was killed Harold arrived with a brand new alligator briefcase. A big one too and Rob left with it. Not before Mary walked in on them and read them the riot act."

The implications of what she said were mindboggling. For a long moment the Detectives just looked at each other. "Victoria I'm afraid you are going to have to come downtown with us."

"Detectives is that necessary? She is not a flight risk, and the information she gave us could help us with Mary Ann's murder. She is right. I read the note all she did was ask for money. Her testimony could be invaluable. "

Detective Sanchez contemplated Karl's request for several seconds. "Victoria please stay in town and don't ask the men for any more money, and I'm sorry I can't let you keep the checks. What were you going to use the money for anyway?"

"Aaron has been accepted at William and Mary, and I was just trying to help my daughter with the tuition."

Kate saw Aaron's mouth drop. She moved in and grabbed her by her shoulders and steered her to a chair. "She loves you very much," she said. Kate looked back and locked eyes with Karl. He nodded. Karl had not spent any of the money he had earned from his poetry or his calligraphy, and Kate had spent very little of what she had earned as a writer. That was about to change. If things checked out, a young lady could be going to William and Mary.

"We need to talk," said O'Riley.

"Victoria we are going to use Mary Ann's place for a little bit, Okay?" said Kate.

"Of course dear, you are trying to find her killer."

Karl unlocked the door and led the group into the apartment.

Kate admired the subtle brilliance of the plan and its execution. Arraigning to meet in your mistresses apartment while she is out is sure fired brilliant. If they notice your absence at all, they just think your just are playing slap and tickle with your girlfriend and won't look too hard. This is definitely going into my next book.

"Secret meetings and briefcases. Bribery and payoffs I say," said O'Riley.

"I agree," said Sanchez, "But how do we prove it. We need something besides an old busy-body's testimony. We need something to prove that they were here."

"That's just great guys," said Kate, "But who the Hell is Robert Thompson and what is his connection to Harold Smith?"

The Detectives looked at each other for a second and then Sanchez began, "Robert Thompson 'Rob' is the Mayor's Chief of Staff. Harold Smith is a real estate developer and a construction big shot. There connection could be the new baseball team. The payoffs are straight forward. Mr. Smith is paying for the stadium to be built on the land that is brokering for a client and for his firm to get the construction contract. The land deal will be worth millions and the construction contract tens of millions."

"The Chief of Staff was present at the Beach House Restaurant the night of the murder," said Kate.

"I know," said O'Riley. "We need to be careful."

"That explains the pressure from above," said Karl.

"Yes, Look we you guys searched yesterday did you find anything that could tie them here?"

"The clothes are too generic, and the datebook can easily be discounted. We searched everywhere and didn't find anything."

"Not everywhere," Karl corrected. "I didn't look in her idea books."

Sanchez saw a look pass between the Castleton's quickly then it was gone.

In both of their minds they remembered the incident vividly.

Kate's idea books had been the source of the one and only major fight they had ever had. Kate came home from the market and found Karl reading one of her journals and she went ballistic. She had slapped him several times and told him through the locked bedroom door that she would rather he raped her than paw through her thoughts, ideas and dreams. When she calmed down enough and came out to the kitchen she saw the look of absolute pain on his face. It stabbed her in her heart because she knew she was the cause.

"Kate I'm sorry. I didn't …

"..know," Kate finished.

"It won't happen…"

"…again," she finished again. "You didn't know because I didn't tell you, and if I can't share my dreams with the man I love then I am an old selfish bitch that deserves to be locked away in a dungeon. Come love; let me share a dream or two with you." Kate picked up a book, sat on his lap and read.

Kate walked over touched Karl on the cheek, "Where are they love?"

"Her work room, old ones in the bookcase, current one middle drawer on the left."

"I'll look through them Detective," she said.

The current one only had three days worth of entries. Kate replaced that one in the drawer and took the last one on the bookcase. Midway through the journal Kate found a letter from Robert Thompson and his signature contained a stylized 'R'.

"Mrs. Castleton could you put that in an envelope addressed to us and also in that envelope could you put a note explaining where you found it and so on."

Kate thought for a moment, "You want an affidavit that I found this and gave it to you instead of you finding it here," she conjectured out loud.

"Yes, technically we are not supposed to be working this case, but if a citizen gives us a clue then we are honor bound to pursue it," said O'Riley.

"What clue?" asked Karl?

"One of the things not in the newspapers is that we found a note telling Mary to meet someone at the top of the hill after dinner. The note was signed with an R that looked an awful lot like that one," said Sanchez.

Kate calmly put an envelope in the type writer and addressed it. Next she inserted a piece of paper and typed for several minutes. She rolled it out, made some changes with a pen and retyped. After signing and dating it Kate grabbed the typewriter ribbon between her thumb and forefinger. She ran her finger along the ribbon and then applied it to the paper she had just signed. A perfect fingerprint. "Let them try to say that is a forgery," she mumbled out loud.

"One piece of evidence and one affidavit as directed Detective," said Kate as she handed the Officer the envelope.

"We need to check his alibi," said O'Riley.

"How?" said Sanchez "We can't just ask him. He would get suspicious."

"You ask the baseball coach or team owner, whom ever is still in town," said Karl. The matre'de said they arrived and left in a town car. If he went back with them then we are out of luck."

"Hey that is something we can do right now. Where is the phone in this place?"

It took the Detective several tries to track down the owner, but his memory was clear and concise. The Thompson's had arrived in their own vehicle, but Mr. Thompson had asked the Mayor if they could drop his wife off because he was going back to the office to work on a few things.

"No alibi," said O'Riley.

"What would you do next Karl?" asked Sanchez.

"Confront Smith. The obvious lever is why did he write a check? The apartment meetings. Then after that Rob boy."

The Detective looked at his watch and then at the envelope. "We have a couple of things to check on this afternoon. How about you be at the station house at nine AM tomorrow. You have earned your ticket to the show."

"We'll be there," was Kate's quick response.

"Need a lift?"

"No we'll wander through Chinatown for a bit then catch a cab," said Karl. "Thanks though."

When the Castleton's exited the apartment building they went straight into the park. They wandered around for a bit and then sat down at a bench at the entrance closest to Chinatown and waited. They did not have long to wait. In less than five minutes the same Lieutenant that confronted them yesterday sat down on the bench opposite and asked "What news?"

Kate was amused. For today his English was perfect. Gone was the pidgin from yesterday.

"We have a name of the person we think killed her. We will know for sure tomorrow. We counsel patience, for this man is powerful and has powerful friends and should his death ever be linked to your lord than the consequences would be sever."

"What is this walking corpse name?"

"Robert Thompson. He is the Mayor's Chief of Staff."

"Your counsel of patience seems warranted, but that is for my lord to decide. Why did he kill her?"

"I don't really know. I think it was related to business and the fact that she was honest and he was not."

"Are you going to Chinatown tonight?

"No we have another place in mind for today. Last night The Lion's Den was excellent."

"Another time then, "said the Lieutenant who quickly disappeared.

"Where are we going?" asked Kate?

"The Beach House Restaurant," answered Karl quickly. "Then Strawberry Hill. I want to see if it is a good a make out spot at night as I think it is."

Later Kate would confess that the only problem with Strawberry Hill was that it was too far away from the hotel.

**Chapter 10 An Old acquaintance [Day 5 Monday] **

The morning meeting was exceedingly brief. The only activity scheduled for the day was the meeting in the Robbery Conference Room. When Beckett and the Team arrived with the Captain they found Detectives Deming and Greene waiting for them. Kate felt a momentary attack of panic. This was the first time since Beckett and Deming had split up that they had the opportunity to work together. She had definitely moved on. She hoped that he had.

"Okay Detectives tell us about the incident at Griffin Technologies Limited," directed Captain Gates.

"We arrived Wednesday morning," began Officer Greene, "in response to a call from their Chief of Security Todd Nelson. Apparently on Tuesday night they had been robbed."

"What time Tuesday night?" asked Kate?

"Sometime between eight-thirty and eight-fifty," replied Deming.

"According to his partner Mike normally took a break around eight-forty so he probably shall it," said Esposito.

"Around that time a truck from Byers Limited came to pick up a shipment," continued Greene.

"Byers Limited is a specialized Courier Company. Their people are cleared to transport DoD classified material," added Deming. "That morning Griffin Technologies Limited called and scheduled a pick-up. They have used this service numerous times in the past."

"The thieves followed the established protocol," continued Greene. "They called an hour ahead of the pick-up time and furnished the names of the people making the pick-up, in this case Jacob Jones and Terry Thomas. When they got there their paperwork was in order, their names, photos and fingerprints were in the Byers system. The people at Griffin verified the people and transferred the material."

"When the real crew called and showed up the next morning the shit hit the proverbial fan. "

"Byers Limited?" asked Ryan.

"Has no record of these two, no photos, no prints nothing," said Deming.

"What did they steal" asked Beckett?

"I don't know," answered Greene."They said it was classified and we didn't pursue it."

"So you don't know if it's dangerous," added Esposito testily.

"No"

"What do we have?" asked Ryan.

"All we got is a video of the van. "The thieves knew where the cameras were. Between their hats and glasses and knowing where not to look we have no imagery of them."

"Do we do police sketches?" asked Kate?

"Yes, but the Feds took them."

"Which Feds?"

"Special Agent John Hemming of the FBI. They have the case now. We have been ordered to stand down."

"Captain?" asked Beckett.

"You are investigating a homicide Detective. Act accordingly."

"Yes Sir."

"Where did the van go?" asked Ryan.

"That's just it," said Deming. "According to the traffic cams it never left the area. Look Griffin's dock can only be accessed from Front Street. There are cameras at both ends of the street. That van was not seen by any of the cameras. We expanded our search to every intersection within a half-mile of the place. Nothing."

"Parking garages?"

"We started but we got shut down."

"What's the theory?" asked Ryan.

"The FBI's working theory is that the van rolled into a delivery truck and exited the crime scene later. We did see several city deliver trucks, but not for several hours later."

"That doesn't make sense," said Beckett to the room. "Why wait over an hour for transport of a hot cargo?"

After several moments of silence…"Plan's Detective?" asked Captain Gates.

"First I will call Special Agent Hemming and see if we can arrange a meeting."

"Espo, you and Kevin swing by Byers and try to find out how these guys were added to their system."

"I'm going to head over to Griffin and talk to their Security Chief. There are four garages on that block. I'll swing through and try to spot this mysterious blue van."

"Reasonable. Deming you Greene support Beckett on this."

"In that case why don't you let Greene and I take a run at Byers. We already started the dialogue once."

"Okay," said Beckett. "Looks like you guys are stuck with me," she continued addressing Ryan and Esposito.

In the elevator on the way back up to the Bull-Pen Esposito asked, "Inside job?"

"Of course," answered Beckett, "But which company? Maybe both?"

"Castle would love this," started Ryan.

The phone call to Special Agent Hemming was a complete bust. Beckett recognized the stone wall when he informed her "that he would be unavailable to meet for the next week at least."

"Okay," said Beckett to her Team. "It looks like the Feds are not going to play ball with us. Do we need them?"

"They have the police sketches."

"We can re-accomplish those."

"Whoever did this has great computer skills, access to classified scheduling information, prior knowledge and excellent physical skills. Their databases would probably help us."

"This does appear to be more than a two-man job."

"If we knew what was stolen we could try to run down the potential buyers."

"How do we compel them to co-operate?" With that question unanswered they left for Griffin Technologies Limited.

The Team met with the Todd Nelson, the Chief of Security in the small conference room next to his office. Todd was a seriously overweight man in his early forties that seemed extremely uncomfortable in the jacket and tie he was wearing.

"Look Detective, I've been through this several times before including the FBI."

"They were investigating a theft. I am investigating a murder," Kate replied in a calm voice.

"Murder," Todd sputtered.

"Yes," added Esposito. "A security guard at another company stood on the roof and watched the blue van come and go. Two nights later they came back and killed him. So whatever was stolen it was important enough to kill for."

"If we know what was stolen we can look at the potential buyers and work backwards from there."

"That won't help you Detective, it was very specialized. It is something your garden variety fence would not know how to handle."

"Can you tell me what it is, without telling me what it does? "asked Ryan.

"Maybe," he agreed. "Let me check the allowable disclosure and press statements in the contract. I'll be right back…..It's specialize software, loaded onto CD's. That is all I am allowed to say. "

"Thank you Sir. Say did your video review reveal anything interesting?"

"Probably nothing, but they were both left handed."

"Interesting, thank you for your time Sir."

The search of the Parking Garages did not result in the finding of the blue van. After lunch the Team re-assembled back at the 12th more confused, frustrated, and baffled than before. Deming and Greene had struck out at Byers. With no other forensics or leads, the major question on their minds was, where did the van go?

Their discussion was interrupted when Captain Gates invited them into the small conference room. Present were two gentlemen, "Special Agent John Hemming," said a medium height, stocky built man in the FBI proscribed nondescript suit.

"Special Agent Tom Zealand, I'm out of the AG's office," said a huge man who looked like he could be playing tight end for any football team in the NFL."

"They came here to discuss whether or not to shut down this investigation."

"Why," asked Esposito.

"National Security," offered Zealand immediately.

"Look there is no proof tying Mike's murder to the theft at Griffin," said Kate. "And even if there was we are interested in the same thing, finding and apprehending those responsible."

"We are interested in more than that Detective," said Hemming.

"Okay, you take care of that and we will catch the bastards for you," Esposito quickly replied.

"We think your investigation could interfere with ours."

"Okay," said Kate. "What is your theory on how they got the van away from the crime scene?"

"They rolled it on another truck to disguise it and left the area," said Zealand.

"So in your opinion they are long gone, out of our jurisdiction in fact," said Kate.

"In a word, yes."

"Then I don't see how my Detective's activities can impact your investigation," said Captain Gates.

The Special Agents exchanged looks. "Look my advice to the Deputy Director was to shut you down," said Hemming." When I told him Beckett was leading the investigation he told me to let her run with it. I can't see you finding anything, but if you want to waste your time go ahead."

"My Director is reserving the right to shut you down, but as Hemming said I think you are wasting your time. In any event please keep us informed of your findings."

"Then it's agreed. The 12th will continue to pursue the investigation," said the Captain.

After the Captain and Beckett had escorted the Agents to the elevator the meeting reconvened in the conference room.

"Where are we?" asked Gates.

"Sir we are lost, baffled and confused," said Beckett in an exasperated tone of voice." But tomorrow we are going back down to the site and figure out how they got they really got the van out of there."

**Kate in Rick – in San Francisco. **

"Hi Babe," said Kate as soon as she saw Castle's face on her screen. "How was your day?" At first she saw him grimace, and then she saw a hint of a smile.

"Two book signings, but they were early ones, so I got to do a bit of shopping. I found this elephant for you. It's huge. It's made out of ironwood. I honestly don't know where we are going to put it, but I'm sure you will like it. You know one of these days you are going to have to tell me about your fascination with elephants."

"They never forget," Kate chirped immediately.

"I also found one of Kate Castleton's books and two of Karl's calligraphy pieces. They are in sad shape. I'm going to ask Gina if she knows any one at Black Swan that could point me to a book restorer. Even though they are in said shape it's nice to know they existed and I'm not going crazy. His two pieces were tributes to his Kate."

"Oh"

"One is titled 'Her Smile' obvious subject matter. The other one is titled 'Behind Green Eyes' tongue and check about why he never knows what she is thinking. Both of them remind me of you."

"Any word from the present day Castleton's?"

"Yeah, I got the polite and oh so convenient 'I'm sorry Mr. Castle but we have previous plans for the evening.' It was only dinner."

"Sorry Babe."

"Anyway I'm sending all of that stuff to you Fed EX. I sent it overnight. Oh and my money counting ex-wife booked another signing and reading in Sacramento tomorrow. I was going to take the day off and hit the police archives for information about Karl, but that's been scrapped. I'm still going to get to do a couple of things. Tomorrow morning I'm going to watch the sun rise from atop Strawberry Hill in Golden Gate Park. The view there is supposed to be spectacular. On my way to Sacramento I'm going to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. I wish you could be here with me."

"I drive across enough bridges so you can scratch me from that one. But being in a beautiful place, seeing the sun rise and being in the arms of the man I love, you can invite me to do that again and again and again."

"So how is the case with no clues?"

"The meeting today with Deming…"

"Deming"

"Yeah, the robbery is his case. Is us working together going to be a problem?"

"I don't know are you going to sleep with him?"

"Are you sleeping with Gina?" Kate snapped back and immediately saw Castle drop his head in pain and shame.

"Kate I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…it's just that I love you … and the thought…"

"I'm sorry too Babe. I know you aren't sleeping with Gina. It's just sometimes you make me so mad. …It's nice to know you don't take my love for granted. But know this Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle I'm never going to give you a reason to doubt me. "

"Since the night when you first showed up in my apartment all wet from the rain I have shared my bed with no other, so know this Katherine Houghton Beckett Castle that is how it is going to stay."

"Good….Good…But you know my bunkmate is away and won't be home for awhile and Deming is here and kind of cute."

At first Castel could not believe his ears, but enough of the playfulness in Kate's voice survived and there was no mistaking the gleam in her eye. "Mine too. She is in this far away place called New York City and I am in the land of endless women."

"My bunkmate snores sometimes and drives me crazy."

"Mine has cold hands and feet. And when she uses me as her personal foot warmer….Sometimes I think I will never be warm again."

"Mine talks in his sleep and sometimes says the most interesting things."

"Sometimes when I wake up before my bunkmate I prop myself up and look over at her. Her hair is spread out all over the pillow and she has this sort of glows. I tell myself that I married an angel. When she wakes up and her eyes flutter open she turns and looks at me and gifts me with a smile. And then when she says 'Hey Babe' in that morning breathless voice which is all hers I'm sure that I did."

"Babe with words like that and the great sex we enjoy, you can be my bunkmate forever."

"That's my plan."

"Mine too."

"So how is the case with no clues?"

"The meeting was a bust. We did learn that there was a robbery the night two days before Mike was killed. We also learned that the getaway van disappeared."

"Vans don't disappear. They may transform into things that look like robots and walk out, but they don't disappear. "

"This one did."

"Traffic cams?"

"One on every intersection in a half mile radius. No hits."

"Vehicle swap in a parking garage?"

"All have cameras and we physically looked. No joy."

"Hidden inside another truck?"

"The FBI thinks so, but a suitable truck doesn't show up for an hour and a half."

"Alleys"

"They are present, but even if they took them they would still show up on the traffic cams."

"Not if the vehicle swap occurred in the alley."

"But the van has not been found."

"What if it is in a garage?"

"Okay, how can we tell…. Oh some of the businesses have camera's covering their back doors. We know the date and time and all we need to see is a vehicle passing. When we see a vehicle other than a blue van then we have found the get-away vehicle and then we use the traffic cams."

"And the van is located between the last video showing it and the one showing the new vehicle. Easy to test," said Castle" it will either be a Eureka or an Aw Shit moment."

"Yeah….One more thing about my bunkmate,… he may have knocked me up."

Kate watched the emotions play across Castle face and the last one she saw beaming through was sure joy.

"Kate are you…are we…"

"The home test was inconclusive."

"Doctor… retest?"

"No"

"Why"

"I'm scared."

"Scared that you are or scared that you aren't."

"Yes!"

"You want me to go with you and hold your hand I will. Afterwards I'll buy you some ice cream."

"Yes! That would be nice. When you get home we will do that.…Tomorrow Babe."

"Tomorrow Love."

**Chapter 11 Kate and Karl – Endgame**

The Desk Sergeant waved the Castleton's up to the Detective's with scarcely a glance. Detective Sanchez meet them at the top of the steps and guided them into the conference room. "What did you find out last night?" asked Karl.

"Well the Captain is a little pissed about the lack of a Blackmail collar. We got a copy of the demand letter from McHenry's lawyer and gave it to the DA. The DA agreed that if he went to trail with that letter a jury would probably side with the Defense that all she did was ask for money and their guilty coconsciousness made them pony up. Besides, no one wants to put a seventy-year old grandmother trying to send her granddaughter to college on trial."

"Well I knew it was amateur hour," said Karl. "But I did not know how badly. What else did you find out?"

"Rob did not go back to the office that night. After eight PM there is a strict sign in and sign out procedure. His name was not on the list. ….And the R's match," said O'Riley.

"Okay what else did you find?" asked Kate.

"One hundred thousand dollars in a newly acquired safe deposit box."

"The bribe money."

"Theory is she heard and saw the transfer, threatened to go to the Police and Rob stopped her."

"Why can't we charge Smith?" asked Karl.

"He wasn't on the Hill. He was at the restaurant alright. But he was at his table when Mary died."

"Can we flip Rob?" asked Kate?

"We are going to try," said Sanchez.

"It sounds like you guys were busy last night," said Kate.

"Just I dotting and t crossing. You guys did the heavy lifting and made the connection," said Sanchez.

"Don't forget grandma," said Karl. "She gave us an insight to motive and provided us with a lever."

"It's a shame about her granddaughter though," said O'Riley.

"I wouldn't worry about her," said Kate with a glance at Karl. "I'm sure something good will come from this."

"What's the play?" asked Karl.

"We go talk to Smith and talk to him about the briefcase and the blackmail payment. We think he his dirty. We are going to try to trip him up."

"Rob?"

"We are just going to arrest him."

"The DA okay with that?"

"Yes he signed off this morning."

"Mr. Smith I'm Detective Sanchez, this is my partner Detective O'Riley and that is Kate and Karl Castleton. We need to ask you some questions about the Michaels murder and your business dealings with Rob Thompson."

"I don't see how I can help you Detective. I was at the restaurant sure but I was still at my table when she died. I don't even know the young lady. I know Rob of course. But I don't have any business dealings with him."

"Really," said O'Riley. "We have a witness that puts you in the victim's apartment on the afternoon she died."

"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't even know where she lives."

"Then perhaps you can tell me why you put a check in a post office box yesterday?" asked Karl.

"What check? Who said I did?"

"That would be me," replied Kate. "You also left two goons behind. Which I believe Detective O'Riley talked too," continued Kate.

"The check is in my office. It was signed by you and was for three thousand dollars. Remember now?"

"Okay….Okay…. Rob and I meet in an apartment to discuss the Mayors next reelection campaign. I didn't know it was hers."

"Reelection campaign," laughed Karl. "That's rich. So what was the cash for and why did you pay the blackmail?"

"The cash was a campaign contribution, and I couldn't allow my relationship with Rob and the Mayor to surface just yet. I was hoping that my people could find the blackmailer and we could come to a permanent solution. From your words I assume that the blackmailer has been arrested?"

"Identified yes. The DA is still considering charges."

"Campaign contributions," laughed Kate. "More like bribes for the baseball stadium contract." Kate could tell from his reaction that she had scored, but she did not know how to proceed.

"Campaign contributions," confirmed Mr. Smith. "If there is nothing else… I do have a busy schedule."

All the way downtown to City Hall Karl hoped they had not made a mistake by going to Harold Smith's office first. If he warned Rob Thomson first then things could get dicey. He thought his fears were confirmed when the party entered the Chief of Staff Office spaces and discovered his office empty. "He has been with the Mayor all morning," his secretary informed them.

As they walked down the hall to the Mayor's office Karl heard Sanchez tell O'Riley, "Well you said you always wanted to meet the Mayor, now's your chance." The party entered the Mayor's Office Spaces and moved directly toward his office.

"You can't go in their!" warned the Mayor's Secretary.

"I'm afraid we must Ma'am," replied Sanchez as he paused for a split-second prior to opening the door. Karl heard the buzz of conversation die down and he saw ten sets of eyes lock on them. He was relieved that one pair of those eyes belonged to Robert Thompson.

"Detectives, what is the meaning of this," demanded the Mayor.

"Sorry for the interruption Sir. But we need to attest Mr. Thompson for the murder of Mary Ann Michaels."

"Who?" demanded Rob.

"Mary Ann," began Kate. "You know the woman you have been seeing for the last several months."

"And in whose apartment you have been regularly meeting Harold Smith," added Karl.

"Then there is the matter of the blackmail check you put in a certain post office box yesterday," continued Kate.

"I did no such thing."

"Mr. Thompson on the night of the murder you did not come back to the office like you told to the Mayor and your wife. You drove off, parked in the other parking lot then went up the trail to the top of Strawberry Hill and killed her," said Sanchez.

"That's preposterous."

"We have the check signed by you for three thousand dollars. We have your name in her appointment book. We have a witness placing you in her apartment on the day of her death. The witness will also testify that they heard you arguing. We also found the money in the safe deposit box," interjected O'Riley.

"We also have a note with your stylized R telling Mary Ann to meet you after dinner at the top of the hill. We also have a footprint with a distinctive mark. Which I'm sure we will be able to match to your shoe," added Sanchez.

"Whose idea was it to kill her?" asked Kate in a soft and gentle voice. "She seemed like a sweet girl with a great future."

"I didn't mean to," Rob said as he started to sob. "It just sort of happened. She wasn't supposed to be home until later. She walked in and heard the whole thing and Harold said we had to stop her from going to the authorities. I was just asking here to be reasonable. "

"The money was to help Harold win the baseball stadium contract wasn't it?" asked Kate in the same soft voice filled with compassion.

"Yes. Not that it matters now," he said.

"Mr. Robert Thompson you are under arrest for the murder of Mary Ann Michaels. O'Riley cuff him and give him to the detail outside. I'll arrange for a detail to meet us at Smith's. Kate, Karl?" he asked.

"If it's okay with you Detective," said Kate. "We'll catch a cab back to the hotel. I'm hoping Dad arrived with Alex."

"I meant what I said earlier," said Sanchez. "You guys did all the heavy lifting and allowed us to connect the forensics we had to Rob."

Karl acknowledged the compliment with a nod, offered his arm to Kate and together they left the Mayor's office and City Hall. All the way back to the hotel the normally vibrant Castleton's were subdued. Each thinking that greed had once again cost an innocent young woman her life.

Karl opened the door to their suite for Kate heard her shriek with delight, rush in, and fall to her knees with her arms outstretched. When she fell to her knees Karl saw the reason for Kate's delight. It was Alexander. He had a huge smile on his small face and he was tottering towards his Mom. "That's my big boy," cooed Kate. "That's my big boy."

"You're in trouble now Katie," advised Kate's laughing father. "First they walk, and then they talk. Later they break your heart by running off and marrying a scoundrel," he continued with genuine warmth in his voice.

"It seems you had a safe and quick trip," responded Karl with a real smile.

"Add uneventful," he said.

"HI Tom," said Karl as he walked over and offered his him, his eyes still glued to Alex and Kate.

"Hi Karl," he said as they shook hands. "Henry and I are just running the numbers and preparing draft bid requests and material orders. If we hustle we can get a growing season in."

"I would take Smith Construction off the list of potential bidders," said Karl.

"Why?" asked Henry. When his gaze shifted from Karl to Kate "Oh" he exclaimed.

"Tom?"

"Off the hook. The blackmailer won't be bothering him again."

"Dad what's your plan for lunch?"

"Tom and I have ordered room service. With a couple of more hours we'll have a first-rate plan that we can implement. You guys?"

"Cable car to Fisherman's Wharf for lunch and of course Ghirardelli's for ice cream," said Kate not taking her eyes off Alex for a second.

"Then a little shopping in Chinatown," said Karl. Henry watched Kate's eyes snap to Karl. A small nod followed and Henry thought it best not to question.

"How about dinner here at the hotel," said Henry. "You guys can go dancing and Alex and I can listen to the radio and play blocks and cars," he continued in the voice of a proud grandfather.

"We haven't thought far ahead," admitted Kate. "But that sounds nice. Karl?"

"I'll get Alex ready while you change."

"You aren't going like that are you?"

"No. I'll put the gun in the box, lose the tie, and grab a sport coat and my other hat."

"Good," she said and her smile brightened the hearts of everyone in the room. They left just as Room Service arrived with lunch for her Dad and Tom. At first the bells of the Cable Cars seemed to frighten Alex as he turned his face away and tried to hide in Kate's arms. Kate firmly and gently turned his face toward hers and told him it was a loud noise and he had nothing to fear. The second time he just looked at her. She kissed his forehead and resettled him on her lap. The third time he was playing peek-a-boo with his Dad.

At their stop they got off and played tourist. They enjoyed the sights and sounds and pretended to shop in the numerous stores. When they stopped for lunch, Karl heard Kate give a small squeal of delight. "I take it you are ordering lunch for me," asked a resigned Karl.

"Yes!" Kate replied immediately.

Karl had to admit that the lobster bisque was tasty and the shade of pink Kate turned when he asked "Why Mrs. Castleton, what were your motives behind ordering oysters for your husband?" was delightful. But the swordfish surprised and delighted him. The trip to the Ghirardelli ice cream shop was almost a disaster. After the first bite Alex kept diving towards Kate's ice cream. Kate had her hands full with Alex wanting to eat all of her ice cream. In the end it was almost comical. Kate was feeding Alex and Karl was feeding Kate. When they were done Kate looked at her empty ice cream dish and then back at her son. "Why you greedy little pig," she laughingly scolded. Alexander's polite burb and contented smile was his only response.

The sun had retreated behind the clouds and the wind had picked by the time the Castleton's left the ice cream shop and caught the Cable Car back to the terminus and switched lines for their trip to Chinatown. Kate was delighted when Alex retained his wide eyed curious expression when they encountered the sights, sounds and smells of Chinatown. Kate had purchased a small Dragon for Alex and had just finished buying a pen and pencil set for Tom and some books and pens for herself when she heard Karl call her name.

"Mr. Castleton my Lord wishes to speak to you, "said a familiar voice directly in front of Karl. He nodded his understanding and looked toward Kate. "Your wife and son are under my Lord's protection. They will suffer neither the smallest pinprick nor the slightest insult."

"Kate," he called out. Kate looked and saw Karl standing next to the Lieutenant of the Triad Lord. Looking around she saw that she was surrounded, but at a respectful distance. They appeared to be looking outward not inward, almost like they were protecting her. Then she realized they were. "Go on," she called out as she picked up her parcel and headed to the store she had seen that carried silks.

The lord wasted no time with small talk. "The word on the street is that there have been two arrests made, the chief assistant to the Mayor and a prominent business man."

"Yes, the chief assistant confessed in front of witnesses including the Mayor so his fate is sealed. The business man is just as responsible but I think he may not go to trial for her murder."

"Final justice? How?"

"Business partner, upset that he did not deliver."

"Easily done and probably true. I find myself with a small problem. You have done me a service and honor demands that I reciprocate."

Karl thought for a moment, "Sometimes my wife comes to Chinatown by herself. If an extra set of eyes looks out for her…."

"Done," said the Triad Lord. What Karl had asked costs nothing and only increases his prestige. "Now let me return you that beautiful Snow Leopard of a wife you married."

Karl found Kate siting outside at a table with a cup of coffee, Alexander asleep in her arms and her smile upon her face. 'Kate's smile' thought Karl, I need to capture the beauty of her smile. As he walked toward her, this thought popped into his mind.

**My Wife's (Kate's) Smile**

Kate's smile is Sunny

Soft, Warm, Electric, Touching

And it warms my Heart

I know it now. I'll write it down later. When he sat down a waiter immediately appeared with coffee. Karl called for and paid the check. "Alex?" he asked?

"Sleep caught up with him about ten minutes ago," said Kate looking down at their son and smiled.

"A nap with my wife before dinner sounds pretty good right now," Karl whispered.

Kate's smile widens and then disappeared. "Meeting?"

"Final justice."

"Who?"

"Smith"

Kate frowned. If she understood what Karl had said then the Triad was going to kill Harold Smith. There was no doubt that he was corrupt, and at least as responsible for Mary Ann's death as Rob, but murder. But from their perspective they are executing a murderer. She shivered and locked eyes with Karl. "Ready? Sleeping beauty here needs a proper bed. And a nap before dinner and dancing sounds like a great plan. "

"You guys still at it?" asked Kate as they entered the hotel room.

"Just looking at some other ideas," said Tom.

"Join us for dinner?" Kate continued.

"I don't know."

"Let me put Alex to bed and I'll be back."

"Unless you have a date or something like that then join us for dinner," said Karl. He saw a range of emotions play across Tom's face. "You do have a date. Then ask her to join us."

"Yes, ask her to join us," added Kate. "If we need to we can send a cab for her."

"I don't know," said Tom. "I don't think she would be up to a formal dinner."

"Formal?" said Henry "with Alex?"

"Look," said Kate. "Dad's right. How formal can a dinner be with a one-year old? This is a long term business arraignment. If she is the one for you then she needs to see that we are real people not faceless names. "

"Okay," Tom said with a grin. "We have been waiting for this," he said waving at the plans he and Henry had been working on. "And I would like her to meet you."

"Then call her. Dinner at six-thirty. When you are done, I'll arrange a cab, and make reservations for five and a half."

"Have you seen how much Alexander eats?"

"Okay dinner for six and half then."

"Tom I don't mean to but in, but if she is the one then don't waste time," said Kate as she moved to stand in front of Karl and threw her arms around his neck. Looking into Karl's eyes she continued. "The more time you spend with the one you love the richer you become."

"That's what my Mom says," said Tom. "But I figured she just wants grandkids."

Tom introduced his date as Ah Cy Kato. I know Ah Cy means lovely and she is thought Karl. Ah Cy was understandably nervous. But with Kate being Kate and Alex being Alex dinner soon became a meal shared between family and friends.

Back in the hotel room Kate had just finished giving Alex a quick bath, dressed him in his PJ's, and turned him lose to play.

"You kids going out tonight? "asked Henry. "I can stay and play with Alex."

"There is not a band I want to hear," said Kate.

"We could go back to the club we were at the other night," said Karl.

"Okay," said Kate with the beginnings of a smile. "But we go dressed to dance. I've got a dress I want to wear, and you always look good in a tux." Karl hated to dress up. In fact he even hated to wear a suit. But if wearing a tux was a price he had to pay to dance with Kate then so be it.

When they arrived at the club they saw the greeter's face light up and he personally conducted them to a table right by the dance floor. It was Friday night and the club was starting to fill up and tables at the edge of the dance floor were highly coveted. "Same as last time?" asked a familiar voice.

"Yes," said Kate.

"Look," said the waitress as she stooped to be at eye level with Kate. "Are you guys famous or something?"

"No," laughed Karl.

"The band is on brake right now. But they told us that if you guys ever came back to ask you what you wanted to hear and they would try to play it."

"We are probably going to stay for two sets," said Karl. "If it's possible could the last dance of the second set be 'Stardust?'"

"Easy," she said. "Anything else?"

"Last dance first set," said Kate. "'We have all the time in the World'"

"Oh," the waitress squealed, "One of my favorites, and the band knows it too. Great! Anything else?"

"No," said Kate.

The Castleton's listened to the first three songs of the set and then took the dance floor. It took them half of the first dance to find their groove and from then on it was a pure joy to watch them dance. The evening clothes turned their performance from merely spectacular to elegantly spectacular. The band and the other patrons appreciated the talent in their mist. They danced for five songs, rested for two then danced the remainder of the set. Kate surprised Karl with a kiss at the end of the Louis Armstrong song. "Just practicing for later," she teased.

When they got back to the table they found a small picture of ice water and a note warning them that the final set was the longest set of the night. Kate and Karl repeated their pattern from the first set, and if they had been paying attention they would have noticed that as the evening wore on they had less and less company on the dance floor. When the band started to play 'Stardust' Karl disengaged from Kate, bowed and held out his hand. Kate gave Karl a smile he would never forget and dropped a curtsey that would have done an Old World courtier proud. When the song and their kiss ended, the house erupted in applause.

The Castleton's turned toward the quintet and Karl bowed and Kate curtseyed. The quintet stood and returned the salute by standing and bowing, and the crowd got louder still. The Castleton's returned to their table where Kate drank some of the water while Karl left a tip. Arm in arm they left the club leaving two questions in their wake. 'Who were those guys? And would they ever be back?'

**Chapter 12 Castle fall [Day 6 Tuesday]**

Kate awoke to the sound of …nothing. No warm presence. No low, slow sound of Castle breathing, nothing. "I miss you babe," she verbalized "and I know you love me." 'Five more wakeups,' she thought 'just five more then I'll take a day just so we can be together. Yes, that's a good plan,' she thought as she headed toward the shower. But first I need to solve this case. Thanks Babe for pointing us in a place we haven't looked.

As Kate was finishing her morning coffee she checked Castles itinerary for at least the hundredth time since he started his trip. Travel to Sacramento today, a couple of days there then on the last stop, Reno. Two days there and then the red eye home…home. In her mind's eye she pictured him asleep with his little boy face at the hotel with the alarm set to an early hour so he could go watch the sunrise from the top of Strawberry Hill. 'Oh' thought Kate as she reached for her phone. 'Sunrise pictures' she texted Castle 'and hold me tight.'

**At the 12****th**

Kate was surprised when Deming showed up for the early morning case review, but then thought nothing of it. He still was working the robbery side of the case.

"I have it on good authority," began Kate "that cars and trucks don't just vanish. They may transform into Autobots and walk away, but they don't vanish. So we are going to look for and find the gateway van today."

"Who does he think he is," joked Esposito, "Optimus Prime?"

"No he thinks he's a cop," remarked Ryan. "That would make him….Prowl I think."

"I think he was a Decepticon. Hey if you were an Autobot which one would you be?" asked Esposito.

"Point Detectives," said Captain Gates. 'Even in California, Castle can disrupt my house', she remarked to herself with a touch of a smile.

"From the traffic cams we know they didn't drive out," began Kate. "We have checked the parking garages and we know a vehicle swap did not occur there. I'm not buying the FBI theory that the van got transported inside another truck. You pull a heist of classified material and you wait over an hour and a half for transport. That just doesn't pass the common sense test. The means the van went down the alley."

"We thought of that," said Deming. "The alley ends six blocks up on 9th street. Those intersections are covered by the traffic cams and we did not see the van."

Kate waited…."That means the vehicle swap occurred in the alley," said Ryan.

"But the van was never found," retorted Deming.

"Garages, private garages," offered Esposito.

Kate nodded her agreement. "Some of the companies have cameras covering their back doors, their delivery entrances…."

"We look for a blue van, and when we stop seeing it and see something else then we know we have the getaway vehicle and know which garages to look in for the van," said Ryan.

"It's a longshot Detective," said Captain Gates. 'Nicely done,' she thought. 'You put the situation out there and let Esposito and Ryan come to the same conclusion you already had. You let your Team think it through instead of dictating a course of action. That's how you build a Team. Nicely done indeed.'

"It's like Castle said last night Sir," Kate replied. "Our first check will result in either a Eureka or an Aw Shit moment."

"Let's hope for a Eureka moment then," said Captain Gates as she made a shooing motion to her Detectives.

"Hey Beckett can I hitch a ride with you?" asked Deming.

"Sure," replied Beckett after a moment's hesitation. 'Don't worry Babe. The man I love is Always with me, even when he is in California.'

All the way to the site Deming kept making small talk about all of the cases he had solved in the past couple of years as Kate was starting to pull into the alley she heard Deming say, "You still look great Kate." She ignored him and drove into the alley only to find her way blocked by a truck delivering food to the diner. Kate got out of the cruiser and headed toward the rear of the truck. On her way she noticed that the diner had a camera mounted outside the back door. 'This would be the first place,' she thought.

The driver was in the rear of the truck putting boxes of vegetables, eggs, buns, and other sundries on the roller boards he had deployed to allow the food to flow easily into the restaurant. He crouched down to more at an eye level with Beckett as she approached. "Is there a problem Officer?"

"No problem. How long are you going to be?"

"Twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes. Why?"

"Can you pull straight ahead or do you need us to move?"

"Backing out onto that street is suicide. I always go straight ahead."

"Do you know if the manager is around?"

"Yes, he is inside. He always does a full inventory. Signs the invoices, and gives me a cup of coffee. Little things like that keep him number one on my delivery schedule."

"Good enough," said Kate with a slight nod of her head. "Drive safe today. Getting here I would have sworn that the idiots are out in force."

"They are always out," he replied with a smile.

"Looks like we go in the front door," Beckett said to her troop. "I guess coffee is on me."

The diner was fairly crowded. It was done in the 50's style with a lot of chrome and mirrors. From the large number of 'suits' and the conversation it was easy to deduce that the diner catered to the financial set and probably did a good business from opening to around five. Ever since Kate was a trainee she was amazed at the 'Police Officer' effect when it came to getting tables at restaurants. Three minutes ago they had entered a crowded diner and now they were drinking coffee and had passed the word that they wanted to see the manager. The Team had barely touched their coffee when a medium height man wearing an apron with the diner's logo over a shirt and tie approached their table.

"Officers I'm Dave, Dave Hansen. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Detective Kate Beckett. This is Detective Esposito, Ryan and Deming. First things first. Does the camera covering the back door real or is it a fake?"

They saw a bit of a smile touch his face, "Real why?"

"Several days ago," began Esposito, "there was a robbery. The vehicle didn't pass by any of the traffic cams. We want to see if it passed by your back door."

"Sure. The video equipment is in a closet, so only one can get in. Perhaps someone could look over his shoulder from the hall. But if you don't mind, four Officers seems like overkill."

"We think," added Beckett. "That whoever the thief was came back later and killed Mike Holland."

"They killed Mike," Mr. Hansen said in disbelieve. "He normally came in here for breakfast after his shift." Shaking his head in disbelieve he turned and said, "Come on then."

"Kev? Espo?" asked Beckett.

"On it," said Ryan as he and Esposito got up and followed Dave toward the video equipment. After Esposito and Ryan had disappeared around a corner, Deming leaned in, much to close in Kate's opinion and whispered. "So how is married life treating you?"

"Fantastic," said Kate with a smile. "My only regret is that I didn't marry him sooner. What do you think about the idea of outfitting the Detectives with CDC recording devices when they go to conduct interviews?" asked Kate in an attempt to get the conversation back to a professional level.

Deming sighed and started to answer the question. Kate felt relieved and wished the Boys would hurry back. She didn't have long to wait. When they appeared from around the corner she could tell from Ryan's smile and the look in Esposito's eyes that Castle's hunch was right.

"It looks like Optimus Prime was right," said Esposito with a smile. "How do we place play this?"

"We head up to the next alley. We stop at the first camera, you guys at the last. We repeat until we have the van going in and a new vehicle going out. Then we find the van. "Kate had sticker shock when she saw the bill, 'thirteen dollars for four coffees, and they weren't even Starbucks. Good thing Castle's rich.' Before Kate left the table, she texted 'Eureka' to both her Captain and her husband.

With each successful sighting the tension increased. In no time they were repeating their search on the final alley. As Deming and Beckett were waiting at the back door of the company with the first camera she received a text from Ryan, 'Garages'. After confirming that the blue van had passed Beckett and Deming drove up the alley and parked in front of the first garage. Kate got out and began walking down the alley noting the addresses of the garages for the search warrant she was hoping she would be able to call in. She smiled when she noticed that only one of the garages had a new lock. She had just finished getting the addresses when Esposito and Ryan came out of the building and began bounding her way.

"Beckett we got it," exclaimed an excited Esposito," It's our first solid lead in the case. The vehicle is a sandy colored late model Chevy pickup. It had a bed cover so we didn't anything in the cargo area. The time line matches."

"Great!" said Kate. "Head back and start pulling the cams. Also have someone start looking into the owners. Starting with this one," she continued pointing to the garage with the new lock. "I'm going to call for a warrant. …Oh about the night of the murder…"

"We already thought of that," said Ryan. "One of us will do the original get away. The other will take the night of the murder."

Deming looked at the garages and shouted at Esposito's and Ryan's retreating backs, "Hey do you guys have bolt cutters in your cruiser? We are going to need them in order to get into the garages."

"Bolt cutters?" asked Esposito in disbelieve. "No. Beckett doesn't need bolt cutters to get into those garages."

"Bolt cutters," said Ryan to Esposito as they continued toward their cruiser. "Did we just land back in amateur hour?"

"This Detective Beckett badge number 41319. I need the writing ADA please."

"ADA Debora Kane."

"Deb, Kate you got the duty today?"

"Yes. It's been a slow day so far, but if you are calling I can tell it's going to start to get interesting. What do you need?"

"It's for two cases, the Griffin Robbery and the Holland murder. We tracked the getaway vehicle to the alley between 8th and 9th streets. It came in a pick-up truck exited so we are thinking the getaway van is in one of these six garages. I want to open the garages take a look for the blue van. If it's there then great. If not we lock it back up and try again."

"Castle want to practice his lock pickings skills," said ADA Kane with a touch of amusement in her voice.

"No. He is in California on a book tour. I'm flying solo."

"I better take this to Judge Fleming. Other Judges may not appreciate your ….ah …methods and the fact that you are preventing damage to private property. Where do you want the warrant sent?"

"Station house of course and my phone, just in case any of the owners show up."

"Twenty minutes, no more," said the ADA.

"Thanks Deb," said Kate.

When Kate turned around Deming was standing close. Too close. "We make a great team," he said in a low husky voice as his hand reached out to touch Kate's hair. His hand froze in midair when he saw Kate's glare.

Kate put her phone away, stepped back and felt something in her jacket pocket bump against her side. "You have been dropping hints all morning and I'm tired of it." Reaching into her jacket she felt the familiar shape of a baton. Castle's old baton. She bought him a new one for the trip. "I don't know what you are thinking," she said as she took the baton out of her pocket and released the catch and heard a satisfying 'sprung' as it to extend to its full length. Kate took wicked delight in Deming's wide eyed expression and stumbling half steps away. "If you are thinking 'that while Castle's away then Kate will play' then you are wrong. Maybe dead wrong. I love him. He is my husband. I HAVE NO INTENTION OF BREAKING MY WEDDING VOWS," ' and I know he will never break his vow to me' she thought as she continued in a soft low pitched voice that was nothing but steel and an expression that would have stopped a homicidal maniac dead in his tracks. "We Clear?"

"Yes," mumbled Deming.

"Good," Kate said and walked away, looked back at a visibly shaken Deming. Kate paused, took a deep breath and then began one of the exercise routines with the baton. When she finished she collapsed the baton and attached it to the weapons belt she was wearing today instead of a shoulder harness. As she walked to toward the rear of her cruiser a small smile appeared on her face. A predatory smile. Her huntress smile. 'Even in California he still has my back,' she thought. 'You had better hurry home Babe, before I fly to California and ambush you.'

Opening up the trunk, she unzipped Castle's gym bag. She took out two bottles of water and Castle's lock picking tools. After handing a bottle of water to Deming, she placed the tools on the hood of the cruiser, opened her water, took a drink, leaned back and waited for the warrant to arrive.

**At the 12****th**

On the way back to the precinct Ryan called in the request for the traffic camera video and the start on the check for the owners of the garage. They were surprised to find Captain Gates in the video room with Adams and Jensen reviewing the video.

"McGruder is running down the garage owners. Beckett find the truck yet?" asked Captain Gates.

"She was just calling in for the warrant when we left Sir," answered Esposito. "Captain?"

"Don't worry Detectives. I'm getting pressure from above. When you guys manufactured a solid lead out of air, I assigned some manpower to help with the back end processing that's all."

"Sir?"

"What Simmons?"

"We ran the plates. They are registered to a Jim Dawson in Buffalo. We called his wife. She said he was on a company trip in Florida and would be gone for another four weeks. We got ahold of him in Florida. He gave us his parking slot in the parking garage in Buffalo. The airport police confirm that his truck is still there, but his plates are missing."

"Someone knew he would be gone for a while," said Ryan. "Do we know what he does for a living?"

"He is an engineer for a Defense Contractor," said Simmons. "And his wife said he was there working on a proposal."

"Sir," said McGruder. "The garage that Detective Beckett wanted us to check on first is owned by a real estate firm. I talked to the property manager. They never met the renter. They paid by cashier's check for a premium over the asking price for an entire year. No joy on the phone number they had on the contact sheet and the address they gave is P.O. Box in Dayton, Ohio."

The Boys and the Captain exchanged glances. The more they looked, the more it looked like an Agency affair.

"Sir," said Adams. "They definitely used the vehicle on the night of the murder and in both case it returned to this six block area in Queens."

"Prepare a bulletin. We will release it when Beckett confirms finding the original getaway van."

"Yes Sir."

Kate had finished her water when her phone buzzed with the Warrant. Grabbing the tools she walked slowly to the garage, pulled two tools out of the roll, checked her watch and started. Two minutes and twenty-three seconds later the locked popped open. 'Not bad' she thought. 'I'll tell Castle I did it in one forty-five just to make him sweat.'

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Deming.

"Castle," replied Kate. "Now for the moment of truth," she said as she pushed the garage door up.

In the garage were the blue van and an empty packing crate with the name of Griffin Technologies Limited stenciled on it. "Eureka," Kate breathed.

Kate could hear Esposito's whoop when she told the Captain that they had found the truck.

It took the FBI switch board over two minutes to route the call to SA John Hemming. "Special Agent Hemming, this is Detective Beckett. We have found the van and the packing container for the stolen material. The open question is your forensic team or mine?"

"The FBI Team of course, and don't corrupt the evidence, " he responded instantly right before he hung up.

Wait for it she smiled, on the third ring she answered. "Detective Beckett."

"Ah,…. Where are you?"

"The alley between eighth and ninth streets," she responded. Laughing to herself she relocked the lock on the garage door, moved the cruiser up to block the throat of the alley so she would not be blocked in and settled down to wait for the FBI to show up.

Twenty minutes later her phone buzzed. It was Castle's pictures. The first picture looked to the west and it showed a crescent moon virtually sitting on the water. Even for a camera phone the image was spectacular. The next image was of the Golden Gate Bridge and it caused Kate to shiver. The fog was obscuring the roadway and the only thing she could see was the bridge supports rising up out of the fog. In her mind she could hear the fog horn. The next series of images was obviously of the east and the last one showed the top of the sun just rising above the fog bank. For some reason the fog scared her. While she waited for the FBI to take control of the site, she decided to talk with her husband.

"Hey Babe where are you," Kate purred.

"I'm just finishing breakfast," Castle replied. "I edited the pictures and wrote you a long email while I waited. The email will be in our home account. It's …. Something I wouldn't want to send to your work phone."

"The pictures were lovely."

"Have I told you how much I miss and love you?'

"You just did," Kate replied huskily. "Hurry home?"

"You bet," he whispered.

"Castle we found the truck in a garage in the alley. I'm waiting for the FBI to show up and take charge of the site. And it looks like they just did. Take care Babe."

"Great. We both knew it had to be there. We'll talk tonight love," promised Castle.

Kate could not read Special Agent Hemming's expression as he exited the car. Relief? Frustration? Embarrassment? Excitement?

"Does the FBI acknowledge that it has control of the site?" asked Kate starting the hand-off ritual that was worked out in the dark ages.

"Yes," said Hemming. "Just one thing Detective Beckett, how did you know?"

Kate laughed, "Since it didn't turn into an Autobot and walk off then it had to be here." Turning she motioned for Deming to accompany her as they walked to the cruiser and the drive to the 12th.

**At the 12****th****. **

When Kate exited the elevator she was immediately drawn to the meeting that was taking place in the open space near her desk and the murder board. "Detective," said Captain Gates. "Special Agent Zealand has come up to tell us that they are taking over the investigation and we are to stand down. "

Kate acknowledged the information with a nod. "Special Agent Zealand how long have you worked at the Washington office. "

"Three years."

"You mind showing me your credentials?"

"Is there a problem? Your Captain has already confirmed me."

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. Credentials please," said as she held out her left hand. Her right hand was edging nearer to Castle's baton she had hooked on her belt earlier today. Esposito and Ryan heard the edginess in Kate's voice and started to move into support position.

The Agent shrugged and handed Kate his credentials. 'Forty-Eight Thirty-Three' read Kate. 'Gotcha, Forty-Eight-Hundreds are for directors. "I can give you a number to call if you want."

"I worked in the Washington office," Kate said with her huntress smile dominating her face, "and I know who to call."

Later Kate would think that his eyes give him away. Kate watched the agent's eyes track from her to the Captain. As he reached and grabbed the Captain Kate had the baton in her hand and was swinging it an upward strike. It's 'spring' sound dominating the room. The baton caught the false agent in his right arm as he was reaching for his gun. The strike caused the gun to fly away and forced the agent to stumble backwards and lose his grip on the Captain. Kate moved quickly to the side of the attacker and tried to strike his knee from behind. The furniture prevented her from getting the angle she needed and the strike hit the agent in the back of the upper thigh with little effect. She continued her movement, did a tight spin and ended up behind the false agent with the baton held high over her head. Using all of the momentum of the movement and all of her strength Kate struck the agent on the back shoulder right next to the neck.

There was a loud crack and scream from the agent as he careened into Castle's chair and fell to the floor. "Cuff him," Kate shouted. "Call the EMT's. I'm pretty sure I broke his collar bone. Let's get some pictures and prints. I really want to know who this SOB really is."

Over the sob of pain they clearly heard the false agent say, "I want a lawyer."

When Kate looked at Castle's broken chair she gave a small groan and doubled over in pain, as she just had been hit in the solar plexus. 'Castle's hurt and alone,' her mind screamed. 'He's never alone,' she said to herself. I'm with him everywhere he goes. Hang on Babe we are coming for you.'

"Detective?" asked Captain Gates.

"I'm fine Sir," she answered. 'Castle isn't,' she thought.

Captain Gates looked from Kate to Castle's broken chair then back and nodded. After Ryan had cuffed the false agent Kate excused herself and when to the Ladies Room.

"When did she learn to use the baton like that?" asked Gates.

"She's been teaching Castle Sir," said Esposito. "And quite frankly both of them are scary as hell. Kate is fantastic and Castle is just downright dangerous." When Kate returned CNN was broadcasting the news about the multiple car crash on fog shrouded I-80E between San Francisco and Sacramento and Special Agent Zealand was being transported by the EMT's.

"You okay," asked a concerned Esposito.

"Yeah, I over extended or something. I'm fine now. Does anyone know what's going on?"

"No clue," said Ryan. "It almost feels like two Government agencies are fighting over the material."

"Yeah it does. Let's see what the FBI knows," said Kate as she put her desk phone in speaker mode and called FBI Special Agent Hemming.

"What do you want Beckett," said Hemming. "I'm still at the garage processing the van."

"Did you call Special Agent Zealand after I called you?"

"Yeah. He asked me to keep him in the loop so I called him. Why?"

"He came to the precinct and tried to shut us down. The only problem is that he isn't a Special Agent with the AG."

"You nuts? I vetted him myself."

"How."

"I checked the AG's website."

"Did you talk to anybody?"

"No. Why should I."

"His badge number was that of a Director. When I called him on it, he tried to draw on Captain Gates."

"Crap. Where is he now?"

"On his way to the hospital. We sort of messed him up," she said with a grin washing over her face.

"Understood, I need to call my boss. Thanks Beckett."

Kate shook her head as she terminated the call "I really want to understand what is going on and I'm dying to know exactly what was stolen. But I think it is time for some lunch." Kate grabbed her lunch out of her bottom drawer and started to head towards the break room. She stopped and watched Ryan answer his phone. Kate stopped completely when Kevin bolted straight up.

"Dispatch says a Unit spotted our truck in the driveway of a house in Queens."

"Have them stay away. We don't want them spooked," said Kate. "Javier get us a SWAT Team. I'll get us a Warrant." Two phone calls later, the Team was standing in front of the elevator and impatiently waiting for it to open. Captain Gates stopped trying to exit when she saw the facial expressions of her 'A-Team'.

"A Uniform Unit spotted the truck in a driveway in Queens, SWAT is meeting us, " said an excited Beckett.

"Right,...hit the button to close the bleeding door. I want a piece of these guys," declared the Captain.

The rendezvous with SWAT was in the parking lot of a Funeral Home three blocks away from the target address. When the Team walked into the van they were confronted by a familiar face, Captain Jim Peterson. "Detective's what do we know about the people in the house?"

"There are at least two males Sir," began Esposito. "We suspect that they are ex-military. We think the attacker zip-lined onto the roof, stealthily waited, garroted an ex-NYC cop and left without a trace."

"Weapons?"

"Unknown."

"Okay, we have an unknown number of skilled opponents who probably have weapons and are skilled in their use. As you can see from the chart we have plenty of cover up till the last ten yards. We are going to do a Soviet style breach and hit both the front and back doors simultaneously. Tom you got the back door. Sandy your Team has the front. Larry I need your people to have eyes on the windows."

"Yes Sir," they all chirped.

"This is a basic smoke and speed entry problem, followed by a careful room-by-room clearing exercise. …Clear?"

"Yes Sir," the Team responded.

"Detectives, where do you want to be?"

"If I learned one thing it is to stay out of your hair Sir," Beckett responded. "Perhaps we could provide other sets of eyes on the windows?"

"Sounds good. Larry?"

"Additional eyes are always welcome," he said with a nod toward Becket's Team.

"One other thing. Do we know what they stole?"

"Other than it was 'Classified', no," responded Captain Gates.

Nodding Captain Petersen said, "Okay the classified material is a wildcard. Tom, talk me through your breach and beyond plan."

As Kate listened to Tom, Sandy, and Larry talk through their plans she became even more impressed with the Captain and his Unit.

Detective Beckett was doing her best to stay in the shadows and hide behind the shrubbery when she saw her SWAT partner's head nod. She saw the Team head toward the back door. She heard the glass break as the smoke grenades were delivered and the doors crunch when the breeching teams hit them. In her mind's eye she could picture the assault team's movements. "Second window on the right," she called out as movement there caught her attention. She watched the window slide up and a man looked outside cautiously. As he started to climb out of the window onto the roof Kate called out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Drop the weapon, drop the weapon," shouted the two SWAT members assigned to this side of the house.

"Nope," the man called out as he looked down and saw the two laser dots on his chest. "I don't treat guns that way. I'm going to transfer it to my left hand and drop it in the room, okay. Then I'm going to stand here with my hands in the air until the rest of your team collects me. Okay?"

"Slowly," cautioned the SWAT members."Slowly" A minute later the outside team saw the man in the window get collected, a minute after that the all clear was sounded.

On the way to the house Detective Beckett stopped off at the truck, tired and finding the door unlocked she opened it an looked inside. There appeared to be a stain behind the drives seat. Opening the half door on the driver's side she peered in for a better look. 'Most definitely a blood smear,' thought Beckett. 'Forensics needs to look at this.' Beckett turned around at the noise of the door opening. She watched the Uniforms escort three males and one female to the Blue and Whites for transport to the precinct. They were followed by Esposito and Ryan.

"We found several garrote's in the garage and some of the classified material in the den," said Esposito. "One of the garrotes still has a bit of blood on it. It also looks like they have already moved several of the packages. Find anything?"

"A blood smear behind the driver's seat."

"Probably where they dropped the garrote after the murder," said Ryan. "Called the FBI yet?"

"No"

"Something funny's going on here Kate," said Esposito. "Those people are way too calm."

Kate shrugged as she watched Ryan nod his agreement. "I guess I will call for the cavalry now."

"Beckett what do you want now?" asked Special Agent John Hemming.

"Sir I am in Queens. I think we caught your thieves, and my killers. Anyway we have recovered some of the classified material."

"What…How… Where are you?"

"5336 South Pine."

"I'll send a Team over immediately."

As Kate toured the house she overheard snatches of conversation about the breech. 'Two of them were playing X-Box', 'one was in the kitchen drinking a beer ', and 'the last one was hanging out the window with his hands up.' The house was fairly neat and tidy, filled with non- remarkable furnishing and looked to Kate like a safe house. Half of the garage held two large gun safes and was configured like a small armory. The other half had exercise equipment. All of the garage windows had been painted over and fitted with particle board inserts to prevent anyone from peeking in. The den had several laptops and several satellite phones. One of the phones was tied to a laptop and the other was configured just as a phone. Both of the phones appeared to be encrypted. The antennas were mounted on the roof and had professionally done cable entry points. What Kate noticed that there was not a personal item anywhere in the house, no pictures, letters, emails, no drawings on the fridge, nothing.

"Espo?" asked Kate when they were all in the den looking at the equipment and the box containing classified packages.

"Castle would be screaming agency this or that, and I would be agreeing with him. I don't know what we stepped into. I don't think we will ever know. I only hope is that it is over and we can step out of it."

"Let's try to find out who owns the property when we get back shall we? We won't be able to question them. Captain Gates said that every single one of them asked for a lawyer."

"Detectives," announced Captain Petersen, "We are through here. If there is anything else?"

"Sir, considering," said Kate as she pointed to the stolen classified material, "Could you hang around to the FBI accepts responsibility for the site?"

"Certainly," he said with a grin trying to latch onto his face. "I want to see the expression on their faces. First you find the getaway van for them and then we bag the bad guys for them. If they give you any lip just yell. We'll lean on them for you."

"Thank you Sir," Kate said with a genuine smile.

"Ryan when the FBI gets here I'll deal with Hemming. See if you can find the head of the forensics team and ask to get the smear in the truck examined as well as the garrotes checked." Kevin's nod was the only answer Kate needed.

The arrival of the FBI was anti-climactic. Special Agent Hemming rushed into the den with a very brief greeting, acknowledged control of the site, shooed them out and began using his phone.

"Thank you Sir," said Kate as she exited the house with Captain Peterson and they headed toward his command van.

"You're welcome Detective. The window thing was new for us. So we will have something to work through tomorrow. You know one of these days the FBI should ask you guys how you do it. How you get the results that you do."

"We do have a secret weapon."

"I know. Where is he?"

"California, on a book launch tour. He'll be home in four days. Not that I'm counting…much," she said with a touch of a smile.

"So you guys did this one solo."

"He has been a member of the Team for so long, that even when he's not here, he's here."

Nodding his agreement Captain Peterson continued, "Your Team is a blend of conventional wisdom, street smarts, and unconstrained thought. Start with skilled people, add a sense of family. Throw in an almost complete lack of egos and that what makes your Team so effective."

"I don't know about the egos pat Sir," said Kate with a laugh. "Sometimes we can be downright stubborn in our opinions. Don't get me started on the shooting range…."

"Still," replied the Captain making a dismissal motion with his hands and the hint of a laugh, "When it comes to solving cases you guys are the best in the City."

"Thank you Sir," said Beckett in a small voice as the Captain climbed into his truck and she hurried down to the driveway to her waiting Team.

"They will do the analysis and send us the results," said Ryan.

"Yeah, they promised to log in the request right before they send us the results that way Special Agent Hemming won't have time to veto it," added Esposito.

"Good job guys. Let's head back to the barn before more horses leave."

'I fell great', thought Detective Beckett as she entered the 12th precinct station house. 'We did it. We started with a body at a location and no other forensics and solved a murder. True I don't know which one actually killed Mike, but I know I can nail all four on conspiracy charges and with a little bit of pressure we can get one of them to flip on the real killer.' As she transversed the entry way the smiles, the nods, the greetings, and the occasional high-five only added to her sense of accomplishment. 'All we need is sometime with them in the box and we can wrap this up.'

As she got onto the elevator Detective Beckett frowned. 'Those guys looked like government agents in a government safe house. I mean the state of the art communication gear, the well equipped mini-armory. Who but a government agency can afford to do that? Who are they working for? Why did they think they had to kill Mike?' Kate smiled, 'Castle would be having a field day with his conspiracy theory bias, and the Boys would be out there with him. Be honest," she chided herself 'with what you saw today you would be leading the parade.'

'Okay, what are you going to do about it?...Nothing. Let's hope we didn't ruffle any mayor league feathers.' Kate got off of the elevator and accepted additional congratulations on the way to her desk. After stowing her purse and extracting her lunch for the second time that day, she looked at the spot where Castle's chair would normally be and felt immediately uncomfortable. Castle's hurt, her mind screamed. 'You're just reacting to the chair being damaged,' she thought. 'If they don't bring a new one up soon I buy one and have it delivered. When Castle's home he belongs with me!'

As she started to get up she looked at the phone and frowned. Putting her lunch back down, she sank back into her chair picked up the phone and dialed. "In Processing, I'm Detective Beckett. I'm calling about the four prisoners that came from the house in Queens….WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE GONE….. I …. please send me a copy of the paperwork."

"Detective?"

"One moment Sir," said Kate as she dialed another number. "Yes, I'm Detective Beckett I'm calling about a prisoner that came to you around lunchtime. He may have had a broken collar bone. ….. I see. When? …Please send a copy of the paperwork to me at the 12th. Thanks."

"Sir In-Processing says that they handed over the prisoners to Federal Marshalls and the man who tried to grab you this morning was collected by the Marshall's almost immediately after he was treated."

"It does make sense that the Feds would take them in custody," said Captain Gates. "But to get them out of In-Processing this fast, the warrant would have had to been signed as they were being transported here."

"I know Sir, but really matters to me is that I can't talk to them. We pretty much know one of the four killed Mike, but we don't know which one. Do you think the DA could be persuaded to go to bat for us?"

"I don't know Detective. Let me run it by the Chief of De's first."

"Yes Sir," Beckett replied as she scooped up her lunch and headed into the break room to eat. She was so engrossed in the mystery surrounding the safe house and the disappearing prisoners that she failed to notice CNN broadcasting about the horrific traffic accident on I-80 between San Francisco and Sacramento.

When Detective Beckett returned to her desk she was still upset about the prisoners being collected by the U.S. Marshall's before she could talk to them. The paperwork had been brought up from In-processing and it showed that the Warrant had been initiated by the AG and included the prisoner's names. 'How did the AG know the prisoner's names before we did?' Kate asked herself. After a moment she decided to vent to a friendly ADA.

"ADA Debora Kane."

"Hi Deb this is Kate I was looking for your boss."

"Hi Kate. Congrats by the way, he's at an unplanned Motion's meeting and since I'm chained to a desk today his phone bounced to me instead of voice mail. What's up?"

"I got a bit of a problem and was hoping he could help suggest a course of action."

"Ask away."

"On this afternoon's raid we collected four prisoners. The problem is the U.S. Marshalls appeared to be waiting for them. They collected them right after they finished In-processing and transferred them to federal custody. I know what they did is a Federal crime and they do belong in Federal custody. I was just wondering if there is anything the DA's office could do to help us get access to the prisoners so we can close the case."

"I know it's something we should be able to do, but I don't know how to ask."

"Ask what Miss Kane?" asked DA Arthur Thomas.

"Sir, Detective Beckett has a prisoner access problem. May I put her on speaker?"

After seeing the DA's affirmative wave Debora punched the speaker button and said, "Detective Beckett the DA is here. You are on the speaker; could you restate your problem?"

After Detective Beckett restated her request for help the DA replied," I'll look into it. You caught them. The least the AG can do is let you talk to them. Good job Detective," and with a nod from the DA Deborah broke the connection.

"That had better be a call to Tom confirming our table for the end of case celebration at the Olde Haunt tonight," said Esposito in an understandably cheery voice.

"No it wasn't, but I can correct that. I'm going to back off though. I love you guys but I would feel lost without Castle. You still want me to make the call."

"Sure," said Ryan without a moment's hesitation. "When been at this almost a week now, and a night out seems appropriate."

"I'm in," said Esposito. "You need to reconsider Kate. I'm sure Castle would approve."

"I'm sure he would, but I'm not in the partying mood right now. Let me make the call."

Detective Esposito watched Beckett make the call, saw her turn toward him with a smile on her face and say, "You guys are all set." Then he watched the smile disappear from her face and her eyes harden. Following her glance he saw Special Agent Hemming enter the 'Bull Pen'.

"Good you are all here," he said. "I know that this is an inconvenience, but I need to check your phones for pictures of the house you raided."

"Why?" asked Esposito as he handed over his phone to one of the waiting Technicians.

"Don't know. I was just ordered to destroy all pictures of the place."

"His phone is clean Sir," said the Technician as he handed Esposito his phone and took Ryan's.

"Could you at least tell me where they took the prisoners and who I need to talk to get access?" asked Detective Beckett as she handed her phone to the Technician.

"I really don't know where they are Detective," said Special Agent Hemming. "And that is the truth."

In a flash Kate thought she understood. The FBI was not supposed to solve this case. That is why Special Agent Hemming was assigned to it. 'He is a Senior Agent approaching retirement with orders to just go through the motions' thought Kate. When she looked at Javier he shook his head no just barely enough for Kate to see. 'Mouth stay shut,' Kate told herself.

"Her phone is clear Sir," said the Technician. "Great picture of the Golden Gate Bridge."

"My husband took it this morning," Kate replied automatically.

"Detective Ryan's phone is clear too Sir," said another Technician.

"Well that's all I came for. Thank you for your co-operation and great work on this case. Detectives, Captain," said Special Agent Hemming as he exited the 'Bull Pen' and headed toward the elevators.

As the elevator doors closed Kate was about to speak, but got over ridden by the Captain. "Detectives," Captain Gates began, "The Chief of De's has asked me to relay a "well done' and has directed me to turn this case over to the DA's Office as soon as possible. When will you be ready?"

"A half-hour Sir," said Detective Beckett. "We can finish the rest of the paperwork tomorrow?"

"Acceptable, and have a drink for me at your end of case party. I don't like how this case is ending either."

"Yes Sir," they all replied.

"Sure you won't join us Kate?" asked Esposito.

"Okay," Kate conceded. "One slow glass of wine. Castle overnighted a present for me from San Francisco and I want to see what it is before he calls, and I'M NOT going to be late for his call."

"If anybody holds you up just give us a yell," said Ryan with a laugh.

"That is what Castle's baton is for," said Kate with an evil grin. "Now let's finish this so we can get started."

As Kate turned toward her desk Kevin and Javier exchanged looks. The sight of a pissed-off Beckett using her baton would be beautiful to watch, but was something neither one wanted to witness.

The party got started early and when Lanie and Ryan's wife showed up Kate knew that her Team would keep their drinking under control and be ready for duty tomorrow. The well wishers poured in at the end of shift and offered a lot of advice on how to solve unsolvable crimes. Between the congrats, the good natured ribbing about losing the prisoners, and comments about Kate's newly demonstrated skill with the baton the 'party' the party turned in a relaxing and fun party for her Team. Just what the doctor ordered. Before she left Kate made sure that her Team's tab was covered by 'the boss' and the staff would receive a good tip. Kate was sure Castle would approve.

Kate parked her cruiser next to Rick's Mercedes, took the stairs up several flights and exited on the street. She turned left and headed north for several blocks and ducked into the Golden Dragon. As Kate entered the sights, sounds, and smells of the place buffeted and comforted her. The bar was crowded as always with people having a drink while waiting for their takeout orders. The dining room was crowded with couples and families. Watching the children handle the chopsticks always brought a smile to Kate's face.

As Kate was watching the diners enjoy their and overhearing the snippets of conversation that families talk about over dinner she felt even more at home. A movement at the end of the bar caught Kate's attention. It was Jiao Lei, the wife of the owner. She was beckoning and pointing to the booths along the south wall. Kate nodded her understanding and zigzagged her way through the dining room tables toward the booths. Somehow Kate wasn't surprised that the second booth from the left was open. It was their booth, the booth that they always seemed to get when they stopped in to eat.

Kate took off her jacket, hung it on the hook and slid into the seat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to feel Castle near her. When she opened her eyes Jiao was setting down two waters and pouring tea into two cups.

"Castle away?" she asked.

"Only for a couple of more days."

"He right here you know," said Jiao with a soft smile.

"Yes," said Kate returning the older woman's smile. "That's why I came. I knew that if I came here Castle would join me no matter where he is."

"Yes," said Jiao as her smile seemed to lighten the booth. "You have usual?"

"Yes and…"

"Egg drop soup and Crab Rangoon to go."

"Yes," nodded Kate.

"Sit back, relax, and talk with your husband," said Jiao as she gently squeezed Kate's hand and hurried off.

Kate scanned the Golden Dragon. Counter surveillance habits had kept her alive so far and would continue to do. Half way through her scan, he stomach rumbled. 'The only threat here is that I'm hungry' she told herself with a grin. She settled down in her seat, closed her eyes and tried to imagine Castle sitting across from her and holding her hand.

The memory that surfaced was that of the first time Castle had brought her here to eat. It was right after Castle killed 3XK. Chris Lei, Jiao's husband and the owner of the place, had sat right next to Castle here in this booth and they had talked about Kate as if she wasn't there. It had infuriated and fascinated her. In hindsight Kate realized it was almost a father and son talk.

'Is she the one?' Chris finally asked.

'Yes,' Castle responded. 'Out of all the woman in my life she is the most beautiful, remarkable, talented, and frustrating I've ever met. I love her and there is not a moment I don't think about asking her to marry me.'

'Why don't you?'

'It's complicated.'

'Only if you make it.'

'Right now I don't think I've convinced her that I'm the one for her.'

'Don't try.'

'What?'

'Keep her close. Love her. When she returns your love, then you will know.'

'Thank God Castle didn't follow all that advice, 'thought Kate. 'He did his best to keep me close, and if his heart had not been so large my AG fling could have destroyed us both. No matter, THAT separation brought us closer together and made me realize how much we are made for each other.'

Kate did another scan then settled back down and closed her eyes. The next memory that surfaced was the night after she had been fired from the AG Task Force. Castle had brought her here to cheer her up and when Jiao and Chris saw the ring Kate had never been hugged so hard and so often in her entire life. They treated Castle like a son who had just presented his bride-to-be to his parents for the first time, and her like family. Being fired from the AG Task Force hurt, but being Mrs. Richard Castle was going to be a blast.

"He here?" asked Jiao as she placed Kate's 'Heavenly Delight' on the table.

"Yes," Kate replied with a smile. "The night he introduced me as his fiancé."

"I remember. The Gods decreed you come home to be by his side, and he by yours so that you can help people. I was so happy," concluded Jiao as she leaned in and kissed Kate on the forehead and then withdrew.

"I miss you Babe," said Kate as she clinked teacups and begin eating her dinner.

**At the Loft**

After dropping off the 'treats' for the Doorman, Kate hurried across the lobby, into the elevator and upward to the Loft. Checking the Security Log Kate discovered that she had missed Martha by five minutes and there had been a deliver earlier in the day. Continuing her established routine, Kate sorted the mail and then went into the bedroom to stow her weapon and change into her 'house' clothes.

After changing she scooped up the mail and proceeded toward Castle's office and her present. Just outside the door was a carving of an Indian elephant done in ironwood. And it was magnificent. Kate sat down cross-legged in front of it and admired the representation of the animal. She had only seen the elephants at the zoo, and one of the things on her 'bucket' list was to go on safari and she all of the elephants. She had to admit this sepulture was excellent. The artist had used the grain in the wood to highlight the elephant's strength and majesty. The piece had been waxed to a high gloss finish, and Kate vowed to maintain the finish as best she could. The piece deserved it. In the lower right hand corner on each side the artist had purposely left some chisel marks. Some would think that this careless would detract from the beauty of the work. Kate interpreted them as a demonstration of the artist skill, because nowhere else on the piece where there any indications that the wood had been worked by a tool. Now the tough question, where to put it? The flat top suggested it could be used as an end table. Kate nodded to herself and lugged the, heavier than it looked, elephant next to her favorite chair.

After measuring the top for glass to protect the surface Kate walked back into Castle's office dropped off the mail and opened the thin FedEx envelope. She pulled out two plastic bags. Comic book bags and cardboard backing, Kate laughed to herself, but they work. They were protecting two pieces of art. The first bag contained Karl's calligraphy entitled 'My Wife's Smile'. To Kate the piece was a work of art. The calligraphy was clean strong and beautiful. The paper was old, faded, and torn. The creases in the paper detracted from the beauty of the piece. Karl's name was clearly visible. Kate read the poem and smiled. He must have really loved her, she thought. 'Perhaps I should write one,' Kate thought. 'How about his sleepy boy face, or I know 'My Husband's Hair'. A little poke at his vanity could be fun. Careful,' she reminded herself. 'Remember what they say about paybacks,' but still the poke would be fun. 'April Fool's Day? Now that's a thought.'

The next work was entitled 'Behind Green Eyes.' The calligraphy was just as magnificent and breathe taking but the paper was in even worse shape than the other one, and Karl's signature was barely visible.

**Behind Green eyes**

Behind green eyes, my

Wife's thoughts are never clear to

Me. I Love her so.

The first time Kate read the poem she didn't understand it. After the third reading Kate threw back her head and laughed. 'I would love to know the story behind this piece,' she thought. 'It sounds like the other Kate changed her mind a couple of times and it annoyed Karl, but in the end he forgave her.'

The other FedEx parcel contained a book in a plastic bag. "The Strawberry Hill Murders" by Darius Sutter, the pseudonym for Kate Castleton. 'Strawberry Hill?' thought Kate. 'That's where Castle went this morning to get the pictures of the sunrise. Coincidence? Probably or never.'

Kate carefully removed the book from the bag. The paperback was in terrible shape. Half the cover was missing. All of the pages had yellowed and become brittle with age. Numerous pages were torn, folded over, or stained with who knows what. 'Published in 1952,' noted Kate. When she read the dedication Kate felt her heart leap into her throat.

'To Kate, The other one. The one who's love for her husband transcended time and space and helped make this work and those that follow possible. Thank you for my family. – DS'

Kate was stunned. She was sure that the dedication was written with her in mind, but how? 'I wonder if Castle read this. That's one of the things we'll talk about when he Skype's me,' thought Kate. Kate was lost in her thoughts and was startled when her phone rang.

Not another case, she hoped as she went to answer it. "Gina?" said Kate. "What a surprise."

"Hi Kate, Rick's late for a reading, and there is that mess on the Interstate. I was hoping you had heard from him?"

"I talked to Castle this morning as he was eating breakfast. What mess?"

"Oh, today I-80 is fog bound. There have been at least a hundred cars involved in accidents and numerous injuries and some fatalities. Castle was supposed to drive over today, which means he was in the middle of the mess."

"I wouldn't worry," said Kate in a voice full of false bravado. "He's probably still there helping someone else in a place with no cell coverage."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Sure," said Kate not believing it for a second. "Castle's too stubborn to let a traffic accident get him."

"Ok," said a shaky Gina. "Call me if you hear anything."

"I will. You too."

"Yes, Bye Kate"

She glanced at her watch and then her laptop. The start time for the Skype with Castle was over forty minutes ago. Rick was many things, but he was never late or inconsiderate. There was only one possible reason, he was in trouble and there was nothing Kate could do about it.

The fear that had taken root when Kate saw Castle's broken chair earlier today sprouted and had taken control of Kate. It took several minutes for Kate to regain control. 'HE IS NOT DEAD' she reassured herself. 'I would know. Okay, he is by himself, hurt and off of the road, but he is alive.' "Live through the night Babe," Kate vocalized. "They will find you in the morning and we will be together again."

Kate looked at her laptop and thought through the topsy-turvy day. First they confirmed that the get-away vehicle used the alley. Then the pictures came and then we talked. You said something about an email. Then we found the van. Wait an email.

Kate powered up her laptop and quickly found the email.

"Kate you asked me to hold you tight and I did. Let me describe 'our' morning for you.

You make that little groan when the alarm goes off to soon or we got to bed too late."

'Wait, I don't groan,' reacted Kate. 'Yeah you do,' her other self said. 'Okay maybe, but how can he hear that?'

"We share a shower, but don't have time for more than I quick kiss and cuddle. We did the bulk of our packing last night so we are quickly able to pack our few remaining items and head downstairs. While I settle the bill, you get us some coffee to go from the sideboard and the concierge moves our bags to the trunk of the car. There is not much traffic to impede us as we make our way to Golden Gate Park. When we arrive the parking lot is empty. We get out of the car in a typical chilly and windy San Francisco morning. The path to the top is asphalt and is wider than a normal sidewalk. The city has installed solar powered edge lighting, not bright, but enough to easily mark the edge of the path. We start up the path with your right hand in my left. Somewhere on our way up to the top, you shift closer and put you right arm around my right waist.

At first I suspect the cold was the cause for you getting close. But when I give you a gentle squeeze you return it. The warmth in me that your hug causes cannot be blown away by a San Francisco wind no matter how strong or how cold. As we approach the top, we hear the first birdsongs of the day. We hear several different 'voices'. They seem to be rehearsing their roles, getting ready to participate in the symphony yet to come.

We arrived at the top with plenty of time to spare. We headed to the tables on the north side of the summit. Looking to the west we see the crescent moon almost touching the ocean. I scramble to get my camera ready and just manage to get a shot where it looks like the moon is touching the ocean. We both seem startled by the fog horn. Looking to the north we see the Golden Gate Bridge seemingly being eaten by a fog monster. Swinging my camera around I get a picture of that too. Next I unlimber the tripod and attach the camera to it. Positioning the camera so that the sunrise will be near the center of the field of view I program the camera to start taking pictures at ten-second intervals starting at one minute before sunrise and ending four minutes later.

When I finish I look back at you and you gift me our private smile. The chill has brought a little color to your cheeks, which I find adorable. The wind has teased some of your hair out of the band you used this morning to capture your hair in a ponytail. When I reach to capture the offending strands you capture my hand and press it to your check. I let it linger for a moment then reach around you to pull you close to my left side. We stand there for a moment facing east. You look over your shoulder at the table and say 'Shall we?'

We climb on the table and turn to face east again and wait. With you pressed tight against my left side we enjoy the symphony of birdsong punctuated by the bass voice of the foghorn. When I see the sun start to slip above the clouds I turn to watch your face. I see your lips part in anticipation. When the sunlight touches the top of your head, you seem to glow like you have a halo and your hair seems to spread out like wings. I realize that I truly love this angel of a woman named Katherine Houghton Beckett…Castle.

I lean down to kiss your forehead, but you anticipate me doing that and your lips rise to meet mine. 'Best kiss ever' you breathe into my ear as I continue to kiss your neck. When I pull back I use my finger to trace a path up your face, from the point of your chin, past those incredibly kissable lips, to the cute nose, up to the eyes. When I linger too long, you pull my head down for another kiss worthy of the name. Afterwards we stand together in a tight hug.

The mood is broken when your stomach rumbles. 'Was that a waffle or an omelet rumble? 'I asked.

'I didn't get to see the sun rise,' you complained.

'That's why I brought the camera, and besides you did get to kiss your husband.'

'Wait, you dragged me up here just so you could kiss me?'

'Well, yeah.'

'Good' you say as you pull my head down for another kiss.

Later as we leisurely strolled down the hill to our car still serenaded by the birds you say 'that most definitely was a waffle rumble.'

Love you – I'll be home in a couple days."

Kate read the email three times. I love you Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle, thought Kate. Get through the night we will find you in the morning.

With a feeling of dread, Kate went into the bedroom and tried to get to sleep.

**Castle's Story**

Castle turned off the alarm. Turned on the light and looked to his right hoping that some kind and benevolent sprit had found a way to transport his wife to his side. "No such luck" he complained out loud. 'Five more wakeups,' he reminded himself as he trudged toward the shower. 'Just five more wakeups.'

In the shower, the habits of a lifetime took hold and he started to get ready for the new day. As he stood under the shower enjoying the hot water, he contemplated what Kate had said several nights ago, that he might be a Dad again. 'This changes everything,' he thought. 'I don't know if I ready. … You weren't ready for Alexis,' he remembered. 'But you survived and she turned out well. We will just adapt and grow. The Time Traveler said we would have three kids. Two boys and a girl sound right. I hope the first one is a boy, but if not I will love our daughter just as much. He also said that Kate would be a Senator. I don't know if I can handle that, but it would be fun to try. '

Eventually Castle remembered the reason he had gotten up so early, completed his bathroom chores and rushed into the bedroom eager to begin the day. While he had been in the shower he had received a text from Kate 'Pictures' – of course her thought 'Hold me tight', "As tight as I can, Love" he vocalized. Castle called for his car, finished his packing, checkout out, snagged a cup of coffee and was soon on his way through light traffic to Golden Gate Park. On the way he promised to remember every detail and put them in a story for Kate. 'Perhaps someday we will be able to relive the story together,' he thought.

The parking lot was empty when Castle arrived. The asphalt path to the top was dimly lit and slick with the morning dew. The Hill was just starting to wake up to the sound of birdsong. Once at the summit Castle was greeted by the sight of the crescent moon almost touching the Pacific Ocean. Turning to the North Castle could only see the red light and single stanchion of the Golden Gate Bridge. Two unexpected dramatic pictures taken, Castle climbed on top of the table and looked toward the East. Closing his eyes he tried with all of his might to picture Kate by his side with her arms around him and his around her. He sensed more than saw the sun starting to peep above the low hanging clouds. After taking several pictures Castle closed his eyes again and tried to imagine the early morning sun on Kate's beautiful face. He succeeded in remembering the shape of her face, her light brown hair touched by the sun, being blown by the wind and framing her face just so and of course her green eyes. The unexpected sound of a distant car horn broke Castle's concentration and try as he might he could not recapture the moment.

Climbing down from the table Castle headed down the path toward his car. On the way down he thought about all of the places he wanted to share a sunrise with Kate. Here, again to be sure, on a Pacific beach, on an Atlantic beach, in the Alps, in the Rockies, at the top of the Washington Monument, on top of a Ferris Wheel in Coney Island…Hey what about sunsets? … Same places he agreed. Okay what about moon rises and moon sets? Now you are being silly he chided himself. Maybe so, but you will be with Kate. Then maybe it isn't so silly, he concluded.

'One thing for sure,' he thought. 'When I get back we're going to talk about a joint bucket list. You can't capture your dream until you know what it is.'

Over breakfast Castle finished up the Rick and Kate Morning story, edited and shipped off the pictures and was just starting to plan the rest of his truncated day when Kate called. The fact that the Team had persevered and found the getaway van despite the FBI almost made up for Gina ruining his research day.

When Castle agreed to the trip he had negotiated time off to do research. One day was supposed to be in San Francisco and the other day in Sacramento, where he hoped to meet the Castleton's. Gina, enthused by the response and the reviews they were getting, had scheduled an additional reading in Sacramento on the evening of his San Francisco day off.

"You can do your research all day and drive over in the afternoon and make it in plenty of time. The reading is not until Seven-thirty."

That was all well and good, except this morning the fog had blown in. From the weather reports it was due to hang around all day with the effect that it more than doubled his drive time. Castle couldn't blame Gina for the fog, but he could try. Another thing the reading started at Seven-thirty. That meant that he would have to cut short his phone call with Kate, or worse yet he may not be able to call her. Gina had gone a bit too far and Castle was sure that things would even out, but he did not know when.

As Castle walked up the steps of the San Francisco Police Officers Association on Bryant Street he felt that today would be an extraordinary productive day, despite Gina's meddling. After signing in, Castle wandered into a reading room. The room was configured into several' conversation pits'. Each pit had a couch and several comfortable looking chairs centered on a low coffee table. One of the pits was in use. There appeared to be a Police Official of some sort giving an interview to several of the print media reporters. 'Must be background information,' Castle thought, 'Or else there would be TV crews.'

Castle wandered over to the tables by the east windows. Each table held a small printer, a display, a laptop docking port, and one of those wireless recharges for your cell phone. Eventually, Castle was drawn to the wall-to-wall bookcases. Moving into the room on his right, Castle entered what was obviously a law library.

"I'm very proud about this place," said a man in a blue shirt with his sleeves rolled up past his forearms and a darker blue club tie. "A lot of our members come over here and study for their advanced degrees or for their Departmental Exams. Hi. I'm Sam. Sam Jenkins and you must be Mister Castle." Sam was maybe five-ten and a hundred and seventy-five pounds and had thinning gray hair. He wore kakis and very comfortable shoes. He had retired cop written all over him.

"Yeah I'm Rick," said Castle as he shook hands with Sam. "Thanks for seeing me."

"My pleasure. When a famous crime novelist asks for some time to do research and he asks for some specific things it got my interest. I have to ask. Are you planning on basing a character in San Francisco? I'm sure the Mayor and the Chief will give you their complete support."

"I'd thought about it," confessed Castle. "But any character I come up with would be compared either to 'Dirty Harry' or 'Bullet'. I don't think I could compete with legends."

"Yeah I see what you mean. 'Inspector Callahan's' gunplay and personality and the best car chase scene ever filmed are two tough acts to follow, but I'm sure you could find a niche character type that you could turn into another San Francisco legend."

"Maybe," Castle agreed, "but right now I'm clueless."

"Okay," laughed Sam. "I got the material you asked for in my office, and the coffee should be fresh. I put it on when the receptionist said you had signed in."

"Lead on. I'm always up for a good cup of coffee."

In the hall on the way to Sam's office they passed museum office grade exhibits of Police uniforms and weapons through the ages. Also busts of famous San Francisco police Officers, or Officers that had died in the line of duty were prominently displayed. Seeing his guest's interest Sam slowed his pace. "I'm proud of these exhibits too," he confessed.

"You should be," said Castle. "They are museum quality. It's just a shame that more of the public doesn't get to set them."

They swung by the kitchen area, grabbed a cup of cup and headed into Sam's office. Sam's office was on the medium to large size. It had an eastern view that looked out over the parking lot, to the street and the bay beyond. To the right of his desk was his 'I love me wall.' It was covered with pictures, citations, and those pictorial remembrances of a lifetime of service to the citizens of San Francisco.

"How long and what type of cop," asked Castle.

"Twenty-seven years and Homicide," replied Sam without missing a beat. "Sit," he continued pointing to a chair around a circular table.

"Miss it?"

"I did until I found I could channel my energy into this place and sometimes help the new officers. I do miss the thrill of the chase and the felling you get when you put away one of the bad guys. I don't miss the crap the street officers have to put up with these days. Enough of that. That was an interesting request for information that you sent me," said Sam. "Strawberry Hill Murders and Karl Castleton."

"I did a little bit of research and all of the District's and major landmarks have murders associated with them. That is except for Strawberry Hill. That means either that very few occurred, or those that did occur were uninteresting or something else completely different. "

Sam laughed, "I was surprised. There are more unsolved Strawberry Hills murders than anywhere else in the city."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I had all of the case files copied and there on this thumb drive."

"That's a lot more than I expected," said a completely overwhelmed Castle.

"As I said, famous cop friendly author etc. etc. and it helps that the old boys club is alive and well."

"What was the price of the favor?" Castle asked with a smile.

"Standard cop rate…."

"….one bottle of a good scotch? May I repay?

"Sure, you do have copies of your new books handy?"

"Of course."

"How about autographing the Nikki Heat book for my wife and the Derrick Storm one for me?"

"Done," said Castle as he pulled the books out of his computer bag, autographed them, making sure that there were several twenties in the Derrick Storm book.

"Why the Karl Castleton information?"

"This one is a little convoluted. Karl is a personal project for me. I ran across him as a NYC Private Investigator. In the last case I could find he defended against a kidnapping. He killed eight, critically wounded two, and took three bullets himself. After that he disappeared off of the face of the earth. His name surfaced again when I went through the SFPD honorable dead list. I checked. It appears it is the same Karl Castleton. There is a story there that is just begging to be told. Also I'm thinking about branching out. You know do some other types of books, maybe nonfiction. One of the first ideas that popped into my mind was 'Unknown Heroes'. And the only civilian every to be included in the Absent Companions list by the SFPD would seem to fit the description."

"I don't have much, but you got everything we could dig up."

"Thanks I appreciate it."

"Nonfiction? Have you considered the History of the San Francisco Police Department? The City is not as old as New York, but when the gold rush hit, the City grew fast and the growth was turbulent. I'm sure with all of that and the corruption in City Hall that seemed to happen like ocean waves you could find enough to do a great history. We would sponsor you of course, and I can virtually guarantee everyone's cooperation. "

"Sounds like a worthy topic," admitted Castle. "It also sounds like I would be spending a lot of time here and that is just not in the cards."

"How much?"

"Probably a month setting up the general outline alone," said Castle.

"We could give you a guest account to our system here and you could do that from New York."

"Probably, then I think it would take at least two if not three months to read through the stuff you don't have on line and check other sources. You know newspapers, libraries, colleges etc."

"I see, and you don't won't to be away from your wife that long. Right?...Well have her come with you! This City is a great place for a tourist."

"She's a cop."

"Yeah … I forgot. How could I forget that you are married to Detective Beckett? Hey what about the exchange officer program? "

"What?"

"Cities have agreements with other Cities where they exchange Police Officers in order to find 'Best of Breed Practices.' With Beckett's reputation I'm sure if she applied both cities would agree. We would push for acceptance on our end."

"I don't know, but I will ask her about it."

"Fair enough. There is a way you could do the history and still be home with your wife every night."

"Oh, How?"

"Move here."

"I can give you two words why that is not going to happen," chuckled Castle, Yankees and Knicks."

"With cable now you can..."

"We are season ticket holder type of fans."

"Oh, well you can't blame me for trying."

"You get a commission," laughed Castle.

"No something better, a better City. It's not rocket science. The more good people live in the City the better the City becomes.

"You're right. It's not rocket science. It's People Science."

"People Science, I like that."

"I saw that you had some terminals in the other room. Do you mind if I use one of them to post this to my research cloud? That way I can leave this with you."

"Sure go ahead. I'll set you up with a quest account. This way you can browse the information available and see how easy it could be to do the history for us."

It seemed like Castle was only logged on for a minute when Sam showed up at his shoulder and suggested lunch. "Chester's down the block has the best Coney Dogs and Cheeseburgers in the city," said Sam with the air of someone on a mission to eat lunch.

"I haven't had a good cheeseburger on this trip yet," admitted Castle as he logged off the terminal and stood up.

Judging by the number of Blue and Whites and Cruisers in the parking Lot Chester's was the best protected business in the Bay Area. Chester's was larger on the inside than it appeared. The interior was 'L'-shaped. As Castle entered he noticed a counter on the left a center isle of tables and booths by the windows. The Tables and booths wrapped around the dining area,. As they entered the volume of noise subsided a bit. "He's not a reporter," announced Sam to no one in particular. After a moment's hesitation they made their way to a booth midway down.

After they had settled in the noise in the restaurant rose back to its previous level. Both of them ordered the 'Double Cheeseburger Basket' and ice tea. All during lunch Sam good naturedly kept reminding about the virtues of San Francisco and that the SFPD would be really appreciative of a History done by an author who knows how to tell a story and bring characters to life. After the last of the tea had been drunk and the last French fry nibbled, a medium build man in his forties with graying hair and a 'Chester's' apron over a shirt and tie appeared at their table.

"Mr. Castle I'm Harold Tanner. I own Chester's. We could not help but overhear Sam talking to you about writing a history of the SFPD. I think it would be a wonderful idea. It may not be a nationwide bestseller, but it would be profitable and be a good first non-fiction book for you. You know police work and you could be brutally honest when you discuss both the good and bad times of the force."

"The idea is intriguing," said Castle "and if Sam let's me keep a guest account…"

"Absolutely."

"…then I think I might be able to pull it off without spending too much time away from home."

"Good," said Harold. "I have another idea, a companion idea for you. You see, while this place hasn't always been named 'Chester's' it has always been a place where cops came to eat and have a beer after the end of shift. If have the stories are true, then some of the major raids on organized crime, the triads and tongs, and corrupt politicians occurred here. I thought a book of those tales would make interesting reading. The tile could be 'Diner's Tales' or 'Tales from the Diner'"

"Sounds like a good idea, "said Castle in a neutral voice. "It would depend upon the tales of course and how they could be woven together to keep the reader's attention. One of those tales might make into the History," remarked Castle. "Provided of course the facts can be verified."

"Good," said Harold. "I don't won't to press or anything, just give you an idea."

"Thanks"

"Mr. Castle it's been a pleasure to meet you," said Harold as he offered his hand, " and Sam as always."

"Harold," said Sam.

The walk back to the Association building was brief and pleasant. "Where are you off to now?" asked Sam.

"I'm going to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge then turn around and head to Sacramento. "

"You normally want to be the passenger on the 'Bridge' drive. Today the view will be crappy. Be careful on your drive to Sacramento. They have issued a dense fog warning and some people can't take the hint and slow down."

"Well, let's hope the idiots stay home," said Castle with a smile.

"Good bye Mr. Castle," said Sam "Please consider doing the History for us."

"Good bye Sam. I will think about it."

Castle had programmed the GPS in the car with the address of the hotel in Sacramento. As Castle drove toward the Golden Gate Bridge he heard the GPS say, 'recalculating'. That could become annoying he concluded. Sam was right. The view from the Bridge was obscured by the fog and in a word ugly.

After Castle had crossed the Bridge, twice, drove through the city, crossed the bay and proceeded into the hills east of the city his thoughts began to wander. He was missing Kate of course. The idea of a history book intrigued him. The information about the Strawberry Hill murders brought forth all kinds of story ideas and of course the information about Karl. 'Tales from the Diner' brought an interesting idea to mind for a collection of short stories. In the back of his mind his anger with Gina about cutting short his research day began to grow and combined with the frustration Castle was feeling with the fog and the drive to become a tangible force.

The further east he went the thicker the fog became. 'Get a grip' Castle admonished himself. 'This stuff is scary dense.' Castle chanced a look at his speedometer, 'fifteen miles per hour, glad I left early. When he looked back up, 'RED LIGHTS' he shouted to himself. By swerving to the shoulder he was able to avoid the vehicle his lane, and coming to a panic stop Castle was able to avoid the mini-van that was parked in front of him on the shoulder.

Castle looked out and saw an incredible sight. The road appeared to be completed blocked with cars and people milling about. He rolled down his window to try to hear what was going on and reached for his cell phone. When he looked over to the passenger seat for his phone he never saw the truck that hit him.

Castle awoke feeling that he was lying on his right side. He smelled the fresh rubber smell of the deployed airbags and heard the sound of trickling water. He couldn't see a thing. Feeling the car shutter and slide a little bit to his right he thought 'I need to get out of here.' Moving gingerly he quickly discovered that his lower right arm throbbed and his left ankle hurt like the blazes. He tried to move but the air bags kept him locked in place. Reaching into his pocket with his left hand, Castle pulled out the first present Kate had ever given him, a Swiss Army Knife. When Maddox had zip tied them, Kate had vowed to never let that happen again. As an insurance policy she had given Castle a knife and pestered him enough that putting it into his pocket now was second nature.

"Thanks Kate," he verbalized as he extracted the knife, deployed the corkscrew and punctured the bag right in from of him. It was still light enough to see and Castle saw he was in a predicament. The car was sitting upright but on a steep slope parallel to a mountain stream that was on his left and moving fast. The way is narrow here because of the pass and the water was swift and rising. 'Normally this stream probably holds very little water, but with the mountain rains it could become dangerous, thought Castle It looked like the right front wheel was already in the water.

Castle punctured the side airbag and felt the car slide to his right some more. He muscled opened the door. His first attempt to leave was cut short by the seat belt. 'Stupid' he thought, 'It saved your life another voice reminded him. Shifting around so that his good foot would hit the ground first Castle leveraged himself out of the car. The pain in his left foot when it hit the ground was barely tolerable and only exceeded by the pin in his right arm as it smacked against the doorframe. The push that Castle gave the car as he exited was enough to move the car into the water virtually submersing it.

'Well so much for that,' he thought. 'I need to get to higher ground,' he thought as he leaned back and looked at the sheerness of the mountain slope. 'I couldn't climb that even if I was healthy. I guess I will try downstream a little bit.'

'Time to take stock. Water will not be a problem, as long as I don't drown. Left ankle, swollen big time. I make a joke and no one is around to appreciate it. I can hop. That will have to be enough. Right arm, broken probably, splint and sling when you can. Blood? Just my face from the airbags. Those things are vicious. Castle looked at his watch and gasped.

"That is an unbreakable crystal," he said as he looked at the shattered mess. "And the watch is guaranteed to withstand 50gs. How hard did I hit?"

'What's that? Sounds like a whimper. It sounds like it's coming from downstream. Well I do need to find higher ground,' thought Castle.

Castle shuffled along the stream's edge for a couple of paces, sucked in a breath to dull the pain and continued on. It a minute or so, up ahead maybe ten feet or so above the path there was a baby's car seat. Castle stopped and listened. The whimpering was coming from there. The car seat was teetering and in a precarious position. It was being held in place by some small, hardy weeds. If they let go the seat would fall into the stream and the baby would most likely drown. Ignoring the pain Castle managed to climb up the slope and extract the car seat.

Looking down stream he saw a flat spot that looked to be four to five feet above the water. Reaching the safe haven Castle put down the car seat, flipped back the thin blanket and looked inside. "Hello little one," said Castle in a soft and gentle voice to the baby who was probably not yet a year old and had the biggest and cutest brown eyes that Castle had ever seen. Castle wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"Stinky are we? We can fix that," said Castle as he took of his jacket and shirt. He used his knife to cut his sleeve and fashion a diaper of sorts for the baby and a sling for him. "If truth be known I would be stinky too if I was awake when I slid down the hill. Your Mom and Dad must be worried sick." 'I hope they are all right,' he thought.

As Castle changed the little girls diaper he did a quick check, no cuts or bruises, she was lucky. The car seat was not so lucky. It was broken and there were several sharp edges that could cut her. Castle cut out the pad and placed it under the baby. "It looks like we use this as a windbreak and I'm keeping you close tonight."

Castle went down to the stream soaked his handkerchief in the stream and came back and feed the baby some water. "I'm sorry I can't feed you anything. The water is the best I can do. Its looks like we are spending the night together. I hope you don't have a jealous boyfriend. My wife can be jealous at times, but she will only make me suffer. You should be okay. That pad should keep the ground cold away. That blanket isn't going to cut it. I guess I'll wrap you up in my jacket and hope it doesn't get too cold.

As he was wrapping the baby up in his jacket, he rediscovered his recorder and the image of an Indian woman with a papoose came into his mind. "I tell you what," he said in a soothing voice. "I'm going to use your pad and you can sleep on my chest. The jacket should keep you warm enough and perhaps you and the jacket can keep me warm enough." Using his shoe laces and the long strips of material he cut from the bottom of his shirt he fashioned bindings long enough to go around him and the baby without being too tight.

As he settled down he started the recorder. "My name is Richard Castle. If I don't make it please see that my wife, Detective Kate Beckett at the 12th precinct in New York City gets this. If I do make it, then please return it to me for the obvious reasons….."

When Castle had completed the recording he stuffed it into a coat pocket of the jacket leaned back and looked at the sky. The wind hurled the last remnants of the clouds from the sky and the stars winked into sight. Castle smiled and then grimaced. "Little one, the winds and no clouds means that they should be able to find us in the morning. No clouds mean it is going to get cold. You have enough layers you should be okay. If you don't mind could you keep me warm too?"

Castle closed his eyes and dozed for a second. When he woke the sky was clear and the stars shone with a fierce intensity. To his delight he saw a shooting star. "Kate right now I wish I was home with you. I wish I fell asleep on the couch watching the Knicks with our baby asleep on my chest. You take our child from my embrace and tuck him safely in his crib. Then you come back and take his place in my arms.' Castle stained his ears trying to hear Kate's answer, but then the fatigue and the cold took over and Castle fell into a troubled sleep.

**At the Loft**

Kate woke gasping for air and feeling like she was freezing to death. "Castle" she whimpered to the bedroom walls. Swinging out of bed, shivering, Kate quickly put on a pair of sweat pants and sweatshirt over her teddy. 'He's alive, hurt and cold,' she thought. "You need to survive the night and get warm Babe," she vocalized. 'How? He was there and she was here.'

'Hot chocolate,' whispered a voice in her mind.

'Hot chocolate?'

'Yes. It cures everything. You can share.'

"Might as well. It's going to be tough to go back to sleep now," she said to the bedroom walls. Making her way to the kitchen Kate made hot chocolate and toast for two just like she had done so many times in the past. When it was done she poured him a cup, clinked cups and said "Drink up."

"What's keeping me up you ask? I'm worried about being pregnant I say."

"Don't worry you say you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say I reply. You're a man and you have already been through this. Me I'm a newbie."

"I'll be with you every step of the way, you say with that boyish charm you have. And frankly I do believe you. I'm scared and I wish I could take to my Mom about it I say"

"Talk to Martha you say. Look if Meredith can have a baby you can too. And afterwards I will help you be ten times the Mom that Meredith could only be in her dreams. Okay? You smile at me with your boyish grin."

"Sure I smile. Your confidence and conviction are extremely evident."

When Kate had finished and put the dishes into the sink, she looked at Castle's chair and said, "Survive the night Babe. They will find you in the morning. I didn't marry you to lose you in a traffic accident. Remember Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle that I am Always with you, and I love you."

**Chapter 13 - A Tale of Two Tigers **

Kate woke from a deep sleep with a sharp gasp. 'Something is definitely wrong,' she thought. It took a few moments for her breathing to settle and her wits to clear. Her eyes and ears told her that her that she was still in the Hotel and husband was okay. Slipping on her dressing gown Kate padded over to Alex's crib. She saw him yawn, flap his arms then settle back down. 'Nothing wrong there.' It only took opening her Father's bedroom a crack to hear his tremendous snore. 'He's okay. So why are you scared and shivering?'

Kate made sure the volume was low and turned on the radio. The opening bars of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy greeted her ears. Kate wandered to the windows, drew back the curtains and looked out over San Francisco. 'Okay, what has got me spooked?' she asked herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to recover the dream. In her dream it was cold, dark, foggy, and she was alone. Or was she? There seemed to be someone else present. Someone was asking for her help and warning her at the same time. Who? Kate? When she thought of Sacramento, home, she felt a deep stab of pain and a feeling of helplessness and loss, and thought she was immersed in a cloud. When she thought of San Francisco she felt safe but thought that something was missing. She repeated the thought process three times and each time it was the same, except the pain grew more intense.

'Okay I think I get it. If we go home tomorrow we will have an accident in the fog and people I love will die. I need to stay here and help you find something?'

'Yes,' a voice whispered. 'The fog…'

The song was just ending when Karl emerged from the bedroom, crossed over to Kate and hugged her from behind. "What's wrong?" he asked as he hugged her. "Hey you're freezing."

"After the weather."

Karl, hugged Kate tight, waited and tired not to worry. He trusted her. She was dearer to him than anything else in the world, except maybe Alex, but he was an extension of her. She would talk to him when she was ready. The news was full of the Korean War. Karl felt Kate stiffen when the announcer said that dense fog was predicted for tomorrow morning. Karl watched Kate's reflection in the window open her eyes and look at him.

"We can't go home this morning," Kate said in a rushed voice and her eyes starting to take on a glazed look. "If we do we will die. Please believe be me," she continued in a pleading voice.

Karl slowly spun Kate around to face him. Gently he put his hand under his wife's chin and raised it so that they were eye to eye. "Talk to me. Tell me what has you spooked."

Kate searched her husband's face. She only found strength and love. "I…I had a dream I guess. In it I was lost in the fog and hurting. I came out here I tried to recapture the feeling. When I thought of home, all I saw was fog and death. Here, safe but I need to find something. Can we stay in San Francisco today please," she pleaded.

Karl looked at Kate and all he saw was worry and her love for him. "Sure. We both know that the fog in the hills can be super thick and some idiot driver will make a mistake." Karl took a deep breath and continued. "Your Dad would like an excuse to go to the Bridge Club and play cards. Me, I want to take Alex to the zoo. Whatever you are supposed to find can find us there. Now come back to bed before you turn into a Popsicle. "

"Yes dear," she said as she gave him a quick peck on the check. She felt more than heard the growl that was uniquely Karl's. She surrendered to his embrace and they shared a kiss worthy of the name. Kate was quite warm before Karl carried her into the bedroom.

Kate's Dad took the news of a change in departure dates with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "I think I can find something to do," he said.

'I thought you might,' thought Karl. Kate spent the time after breakfast on the phone checking in with the people running the day to day operations of her company. Satisfied that the Company could survive another day, they got ready for their trip to the zoo. For San Francisco, the day was incredibly warm and windless. The low thick clouds was a continually reminder to Kate as to why they were still in the city and subdued her mood.

Karl easily found a parking place. As they walked toward the ticket booth Karl thought through his normal conflict about zoos. On one hand Karl felt the animals should run free, but if they were all running free then he won't get to see them. He ended his mental discussion where he always did. He enjoyed the animals and the educational opportunity they represented and hoped that the animals were happy and treated properly.

After buying the tickets and installing Alex in the rented stroller, the Castleton's headed toward their first stop of the day, the Children's Zoo. Karl hurried across the bridge and bought some food for the animals. When Kate and Alex caught up to him he bent down clapped his hands and Alex literally jumped into his arms. Kate smiled, despite her feelings, at the expressions of absolute wonder on the faces of her 'two guys'. If there was any doubt that Alex was Karl's son, seeing them together like this quickly dispelled it.

Kate parked the stroller, sat on the bench and watched her guys work their way through the sheep, guinea pigs, goats, and other small animals. She looked at the low gray clouds and shivered, despite the warmth. 'Perhaps we should start number two,' she thought. 'Boy, girl, boy. I would like that,' she mused. A scream brought her to feet and scrambling toward her two guys. Karl looked back at Kate with a huge smile on his face. Apparently a llama had 'kissed' Alex and he wasn't happy. After the initial outburst Alex settled down and Kate thought she heard him giggling.

"Yours?" asked a voice from behind.

"Yes," said Kate as she set back down next to the Zoo employee who was bottle feeding a kitten. "Both of them."

"You're not with them?"

"City boy, country girl. …She's beautiful."

"Her name is Lena. She is a Snow Leopard cub. Her mom had a huge litter. We swiped two. We will raise them for a year or so. We will have no trouble placing them with another zoo. There is some talk we may be able to trade them to China for a pair of panda's. That would be fantastic. I'm Sarah by the way."

"Kate. The big kid is Karl the smaller one is Alex." Kate was fascinated by the kitten. She gasped when the kitten opened her eyes. "The eyes," Kate whispered.

"They are a beautiful green aren't they? They will lighten over time. Still I think Lena will be a very beautiful young lady."

Kate agreed…..When she looked toward the Children's zoo she could not see Karl and Alex. Feeling a huge knot in her stomach form she stood up and rushed into the animal enclosure. Still not seeing her guys she hurried down the path and into the small barn. Not seeing them and felling incredibly alone she hurried through. Twenty-five yards away she saw a man on his knees feeding several rabbits.

Karl turned at the sound of crunching gravel. He spied a vision of loveliness in yellow and white bearing down on him. It was his Kate, and the expression on her face made he immediately stand-up. She hit Karl with a resound thump and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.

"Sorry Mom. We didn't mean to run off. We won't do it again," Karl said in a cool light voice. Karl gently pried his wife's face from his chest and looked into her moist eyes. "I'll never leave you Kate."

"I know," she smiled.

Karl checked his watch. "We need to hurry if we are going to make the walking garden tour."

"Mrs. Castleton?" asked the zoo employee.

"Yes," answered Kate. "Do I know you….Pam?" as Kate strained to read the guide's nametag.

"Oh no. I just was fascinated when I read the profile of you and your business last month. Ladies and Gentlemen we have someone here who really knows how to make things grow….And form the looks of it about families too,'' said Pam as she watched Kate take Alex into her arms. "This is Kate Castleton. She is CEO of one of the largest agricultural companies in the state."

"You do know I have really bright people figuring this out for me don't you?" said a flattered and embarrassed Kate.

"Sure, but it still takes brains and guts to implement their recommendations. And the techniques you have implemented have benefitted everyone. Better yields increase your bottom line and mean cheaper food for the rest of use. And your targeted instead of indiscriminate use of fertilizer and pesticides has to be better for all of use."

"Pam you sound like a company shill," laughed Kate.

"Like I said, I as was impressed with the profile. Now for the tour. We will walk through four types of California Native Gardens. We will start with a High Plains Garden, move to a Central Valley Garden, then a Dunes garden and finish up in garden that I'm sure our distinguished quest will find quite interesting.

Karl watched Alex and Kate as they walked through the gardens. The look of attention and concentration on Alex's face surprised him. He's too young to understand any of this isn't he? Karl asked himself. The high plain garden featured low water plaints like the alpine phlox, bluebonnet, desert marigold, lemon mint and the plains wallflower. Karl was amazed at the mixtures of colors, sizes and shapes.

The Central Valley Garden was a riot of flowers and colors. "Humming birds" exclaimed Karl.

"Yes," said Pam. If you want to attract these little guys to your garden then you need lots of bright flowers. These guys are fun to watch and amazing. The zoo builds houses and habitats for them. I'm a plant person at heart, but I admit I could watch them for hours.

"In the dunes garden we have a lot more variety than you would think," said Pam. "For this garden we have only selected plants of the central coast region. If you go up or down the coast the plants will change. 'She's right' thought Karl. There had to be at least thirty different types of grasses, shrubs and flowers here.

"You're trying to put me out of business, "laughed Kate as they entered the last garden. It was a home vegetable garden and contained rows of onions, tomato plants, squash, rhubarb, strawberries, spinach and…

"As much as I like flowers, I like eating more," confessed Pam. "And that makes this my favorite garden."

Kate handed Alex off to Karl and bent down to look more closely at the plants. In no time Kate and Pam were in a deep discussion. The discussion ended with Kate opening her purse and giving Pam a business card. "Let's get some lunch," Kate announced. "I'm famished."

After lunch Kate knew that they were heading for Karl's favorite exhibit in the zoo, 'The Kat House'. For a reason she didn't know he seemed to be extremely interested in them. Maybe it's a little boy thing she thought. After a few steps she caught Karl starring at her. Then it hit her. She was humming the 'Promenade' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition.' "What?" she said defensively. "It's a fine piece of music. And it kind of fits."

"Yes it does," agreed Karl. "I think a copy-cat piece about the animals at the zoo would be spectacular."

"Don't forget the gardens," added Kate.

"Of course not Dear. If you don't mind?"

"What?"

"Start again?"

Blushing, Kate started again, but this time she had a Karl's whistling accompaniment.

As the Petting Zoo was for Alex, and the Gardens were for Kate, the Kat House was definitely Karl's venue. The first part of the exhibit was underground. This allowed the patrons to see the smaller nocturnal cats asleep in their dens. The bigger cats had more open air enclosures. Karl hurried through the nocturnal section and up to the big cats section. The problem with big cats is that they are finicky. Sometimes they are out in the yard, most often they were not.

Of all of the big cats Karl's favorite was clearly the jaguar. He was amazed at their size, third largest behind only the lions and tigers, and the second fastest. What really amazed him was that most people did not know that jaguars are native to the United States. Most people just thought of them as South American jungle cats. Today he was in luck two youngsters were playing 'tag' in the yard and a magnificent looking male was sunning himself on the rock. After watching for several minutes Karl concluded that this had been the best zoo visit ever and he reluctantly let himself be pulled onward toward the lions and tigers.

The lions were of course magnificent, and the tigers as 'stripy' as ever. As they were about to leave the viewing area in front of the empty Siberian Tiger enclosure, Alex gave out a cry of panic. Both parents dove toward their son. Kate's superior 'Mother's instinct and reflexes' won the race. "What's wrong babe?" she asked. Once in his Mother's arms, Alex's crying stopped and his head snapped toward the tiger's enclosure. Kate and Karl followed their sons gaze and spotted a magnificent female Siberian Tiger enter the yard.

'She's worried and looking for something' thought Kate. 'Wait, she's looking for something.' Mesmerized they watched her methodically search the compound. Finally she came to the sunning stones. The Castleton's watched the cat climb the stones and look out from the top some thirty feet in the air.

"He's right there," they both shouted and pointed. For the first time today they saw what appeared to be a male asleep in the shade of the rocks. "He's in the shade at the foot of the rocks," shouted Kate. The female tiger appeared to hear them, looked down, leapt, and well landed like a cat. She hurried over began to purr so loud that even the Castleton's heard her despite the distance and nuzzle her mate. Eventually he lashed out and missed.

"Wake up grumpy did he?" Karl vocalized. 'Or from the dead' thought Kate.

Eventually he lashed out again and landed….a soft touch more like a caress. A few moments later he stood up and they stood together forehead-to-forehead like two human lovers. A few seconds later she backed up and started to walk away. She stopped looked over her shoulder at her mate. She shook her caboose in the universally translated 'follow me big boy' language. The big cats bounded up to the top of the sunning stones. The male crossed over to the far side and lay down on his side. The female jumped up, crossed over, nuzzled the male once more and lay down in his arms? thought Kate.

'You found him, he's safe thank you' a voice in Kate's mind said softly and trailed off.

"How did we not see him," Karl asked. Seeing the expression play across Kate's face, "The found thing?" he asked.

"Yes," smiled Kate.

Placing Alex back into the stroller, Kate stood with beside Karl with her head on his shoulder and his arm firmly around her waist. Together they watched the Tigers fall asleep in the sunshine.

When Karl realized that they had walked through the 'California Golden Bear Country' without seeing anything he looked at Kate. "My mind is still with the Tigers," she confirmed.

Karl looked at his watch and grimaced. "It's a lot later than I thought. How about some ice cream here, then we head back to the hotel." At the mention of ice cream Alex started to bounce up and down in the stroller.

"That's one vote yes," laughed Kate.

The Doorman greeted the Castleton's as cordially and enthusiastically as always, and promised to have both cars ready to go early in the morning. "Mr. Castleton may I ask you a question?" asked the Doorman.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"You were planning to go home today right?"

"Yeah, we changed our mind."

"Wow, you guys sure are lucky. The road to Sacramento was fog bound this morning, and there were at least thirty accidents and at a lot of people died or were injured. I'm glad you guys decided to stay on for another day. It would be a real tragedy if something happened to you guys." He turned and rushed over to open the door of the cab for another patron and missed the knowing look that passed between Karl and Kate.

The trip across the hotel's lobby was uneventful. Like they had done so many times in the past, Kate and Alex went toward the elevators and Karl went to collect the messages. "I'll wait for him ma'am," said the elderly elevator operator with a nod toward Karl. "Have a pleasant outing?"

"We went to the zoo," added Karl, as he hurried into the car. "This one," he said with a hand on Alex's head, "screamed when he got kissed by a llama. And this one," he said with a gentle touch to Kate's check, "probably offered to redesign the gardens for them."

"Just the irrigation for the vegetable garden," retorted Kate. "This one," returning Karl's touch, "fell in love with a tiger."

"You must admit that she was gorgeous, and probably would eat me for lunch," Karl laughed and kissed Kate's hand.

"Here you are. Sounds like you guys had a fun time."

"We did," admitted Kate, "and thank you."

Once inside their hotel room Kate and Karl swapped burdens. Kate scanned the messages as she watched her husband and son head toward the bedroom. "Let's get your faced washed. You've got a chocolate ice cream face, and then we'll get out of those clothes and a short nap before dinner, all right?"

Kate had just started to dial the second number when she heard a blood curdling cry come from the bed room. Rushing in she saw Alex sitting in his crib crying with tears running down his face and Karl standing next to him and in a state of shock. "Hey there," she cooed "I'll have not of that." Reaching in she picked up her son, kissed his forehead and held him close. "Just a short nap. We'll get you up for supper. Don't worry. We're eating in tonight. Afterwards Mom will give you a bath. Then dressed in clean jammies you can play till the Sandman comes ok?"

All during Kate's speech Alex quieted down and was almost asleep in her arms. Laying him back down she kissed his forehead again, "Short nap till supper love."

"Mother's touch," Karl whispered. Kate flashed Karl her best smile and walked out of the room toward the phone, her messages and her other world. Karl took a deep breath, shook his head and let his breath out slowly and decided he needed a swim.

By the time Karl emerged from the bedroom Kate had finished the fifth message. She could tell from Karl's body language and facial expression something was bothering him. Putting the phone back down on its cradle, "Hon, what's wrong?" she asked. Karl now had her complete and total attention.

"Going for a swim," he replied laconically as he continued to head towards the door.

"Hon?" Asked Kate in a low voice full of concern.

Karl continued for several steps and stopped with his hand on the door knob. "Where did the Tiger come from Kate?" asked Karl finally turning to look at his wife. His pent-up uncertainty overruling his interpretation of the look of concern on Kate's face he continued in a strained voice. "Oh, I can understand a premonition thing about the fog. Part of me can believe that you have a Sister-in-Time and she warned you about the fog. But I can't understand how we missed the Tiger and how the Tiger's felt like us, but not like us."

At the mention of a Sister-in-Time Kate started hurrying towards Karl. "Something extraordinary did happen today, "she said. "We had a great time at the zoo. I don't know what would have happened if we had went home as we had planned. Maybe we would have got caught in the mess, maybe not. All I know is that my family is safe." Taking a deep breath she continued. "As far as the Tiger is concerned, I don't know. I felt it too, but I don't care if I understand it or not. It was nice. If I do have a Sister-in-Time," she reached out to touch Karl's face "Oh" …. Karl was replaced by a ruggedly handsome man who had a face used to laughing. Right now he was smiling and his eyes. …His eyes seemed to say. 'I love you and only you. It made Kate feel warm all over. Karl looked at her that way sometimes and it was wonderful. "…then she can warn me anytime she wants…. Karl… Did you… was she."

"Beautiful, yes,… and her eyes."

"Then we're both lucky women. Each of us loves a handsome man and he loves us."

"With all my heart," confirmed Karl has he leaned in and kissed his wife. After they broke, "Go get your swim in Hon. I think the Tigers were just their avatars. They hunt murderers in New York and what better avatar then than the biggest and badest cat on the planet."

"I guess," said Karl unconvincingly as he reached for the doorknob again. "What time do you want to eat?"

"In two and a half ok?"

"Sure"

**At the Loft**

Kate woke gasping for air and feeling like she was freezing to death. "Castle" she whimpered to the bedroom walls. Swinging out of bed, shivering, Kate quickly put on a pair of sweat pants and sweatshirt over her teddy. 'He's alive, hurt and cold,' she thought. "You need to survive the night and get warm Babe," she vocalized. 'How? He was there and she was here.'

'Hot chocolate,' whispered a voice in her mind.

'Hot chocolate?'

'Yes. It cures everything. You can share.'

"Might as well. It's going to be tough to go back to sleep now," she said to the bedroom walls. Making her way to the kitchen Kate made hot chocolate and toast for two just like she had done so many times in the past. When it was done she poured him a cup, clinked cups and said "Drink up."

"What's keeping me up you ask? I'm worried about being pregnant I say."

"Don't worry you say you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say I reply. You're a man and you have already been through this. Me I'm a newbie."

"I'll be with you every step of the way, you say with that boyish charm you have. And frankly I do believe you. I'm scared and I wish I could take to my Mom about it I say"

"Talk to Martha you say. Look if Meredith can have a baby you can too. And afterwards I will help you be ten times the Mom that Meredith could only be in her dreams. Okay? You smile at me with your boyish grin."

"Sure I smile. Your confidence and conviction are extremely evident."

When Kate had finished and put the dishes into the sink, she looked at Castle's chair and said, "Survive the night Babe. They will find you in the morning. I didn't marry you to lose you in a traffic accident. Remember Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle that I am Always with you, and I love you."

**Chapter 13 - A Tale of Two Tigers **

Kate woke from a deep sleep with a sharp gasp. 'Something is definitely wrong,' she thought. It took a few moments for her breathing to settle and her wits to clear. Her eyes and ears told her that her that she was still in the Hotel and husband was okay. Slipping on her dressing gown Kate padded over to Alex's crib. She saw him yawn, flap his arms then settle back down. 'Nothing wrong there.' It only took opening her Father's bedroom a crack to hear his tremendous snore. 'He's okay. So why are you scared and shivering?'

Kate made sure the volume was low and turned on the radio. The opening bars of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy greeted her ears. Kate wandered to the windows, drew back the curtains and looked out over San Francisco. 'Okay, what has got me spooked?' she asked herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to recover the dream. In her dream it was cold, dark, foggy, and she was alone. Or was she? There seemed to be someone else present. Someone was asking for her help and warning her at the same time. Who? Kate? When she thought of Sacramento, home, she felt a deep stab of pain and a feeling of helplessness and loss, and thought she was immersed in a cloud. When she thought of San Francisco she felt safe but thought that something was missing. She repeated the thought process three times and each time it was the same, except the pain grew more intense.

'Okay I think I get it. If we go home tomorrow we will have an accident in the fog and people I love will die. I need to stay here and help you find something?'

'Yes,' a voice whispered. 'The fog…'

The song was just ending when Karl emerged from the bedroom, crossed over to Kate and hugged her from behind. "What's wrong?" he asked as he hugged her. "Hey you're freezing."

"After the weather."

Karl, hugged Kate tight, waited and tired not to worry. He trusted her. She was dearer to him than anything else in the world, except maybe Alex, but he was an extension of her. She would talk to him when she was ready. The news was full of the Korean War. Karl felt Kate stiffen when the announcer said that dense fog was predicted for tomorrow morning. Karl watched Kate's reflection in the window open her eyes and look at him.

"We can't go home this morning," Kate said in a rushed voice and her eyes starting to take on a glazed look. "If we do we will die. Please believe be me," she continued in a pleading voice.

Karl slowly spun Kate around to face him. Gently he put his hand under his wife's chin and raised it so that they were eye to eye. "Talk to me. Tell me what has you spooked."

Kate searched her husband's face. She only found strength and love. "I…I had a dream I guess. In it I was lost in the fog and hurting. I came out here I tried to recapture the feeling. When I thought of home, all I saw was fog and death. Here, safe but I need to find something. Can we stay in San Francisco today please," she pleaded.

Karl looked at Kate and all he saw was worry and her love for him. "Sure. We both know that the fog in the hills can be super thick and some idiot driver will make a mistake." Karl took a deep breath and continued. "Your Dad would like an excuse to go to the Bridge Club and play cards. Me, I want to take Alex to the zoo. Whatever you are supposed to find can find us there. Now come back to bed before you turn into a Popsicle. "

"Yes dear," she said as she gave him a quick peck on the check. She felt more than heard the growl that was uniquely Karl's. She surrendered to his embrace and they shared a kiss worthy of the name. Kate was quite warm before Karl carried her into the bedroom.

Kate's Dad took the news of a change in departure dates with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "I think I can find something to do," he said.

'I thought you might,' thought Karl. Kate spent the time after breakfast on the phone checking in with the people running the day to day operations of her company. Satisfied that the Company could survive another day, they got ready for their trip to the zoo. For San Francisco, the day was incredibly warm and windless. The low thick clouds was a continually reminder to Kate as to why they were still in the city and subdued her mood.

Karl easily found a parking place. As they walked toward the ticket booth Karl thought through his normal conflict about zoos. On one hand Karl felt the animals should run free, but if they were all running free then he won't get to see them. He ended his mental discussion where he always did. He enjoyed the animals and the educational opportunity they represented and hoped that the animals were happy and treated properly.

After buying the tickets and installing Alex in the rented stroller, the Castleton's headed toward their first stop of the day, the Children's Zoo. Karl hurried across the bridge and bought some food for the animals. When Kate and Alex caught up to him he bent down clapped his hands and Alex literally jumped into his arms. Kate smiled, despite her feelings, at the expressions of absolute wonder on the faces of her 'two guys'. If there was any doubt that Alex was Karl's son, seeing them together like this quickly dispelled it.

Kate parked the stroller, sat on the bench and watched her guys work their way through the sheep, guinea pigs, goats, and other small animals. She looked at the low gray clouds and shivered, despite the warmth. 'Perhaps we should start number two,' she thought. 'Boy, girl, boy. I would like that,' she mused. A scream brought her to feet and scrambling toward her two guys. Karl looked back at Kate with a huge smile on his face. Apparently a llama had 'kissed' Alex and he wasn't happy. After the initial outburst Alex settled down and Kate thought she heard him giggling.

"Yours?" asked a voice from behind.

"Yes," said Kate as she set back down next to the Zoo employee who was bottle feeding a kitten. "Both of them."

"You're not with them?"

"City boy, country girl. …She's beautiful."

"Her name is Lena. She is a Snow Leopard cub. Her mom had a huge litter. We swiped two. We will raise them for a year or so. We will have no trouble placing them with another zoo. There is some talk we may be able to trade them to China for a pair of panda's. That would be fantastic. I'm Sarah by the way."

"Kate. The big kid is Karl the smaller one is Alex." Kate was fascinated by the kitten. She gasped when the kitten opened her eyes. "The eyes," Kate whispered.

"They are a beautiful green aren't they? They will lighten over time. Still I think Lena will be a very beautiful young lady."

Kate agreed…..When she looked toward the Children's zoo she could not see Karl and Alex. Feeling a huge knot in her stomach form she stood up and rushed into the animal enclosure. Still not seeing her guys she hurried down the path and into the small barn. Not seeing them and felling incredibly alone she hurried through. Twenty-five yards away she saw a man on his knees feeding several rabbits.

Karl turned at the sound of crunching gravel. He spied a vision of loveliness in yellow and white bearing down on him. It was his Kate, and the expression on her face made he immediately stand-up. She hit Karl with a resound thump and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.

"Sorry Mom. We didn't mean to run off. We won't do it again," Karl said in a cool light voice. Karl gently pried his wife's face from his chest and looked into her moist eyes. "I'll never leave you Kate."

"I know," she smiled.

Karl checked his watch. "We need to hurry if we are going to make the walking garden tour."

"Mrs. Castleton?" asked the zoo employee.

"Yes," answered Kate. "Do I know you….Pam?" as Kate strained to read the guide's nametag.

"Oh no. I just was fascinated when I read the profile of you and your business last month. Ladies and Gentlemen we have someone here who really knows how to make things grow….And form the looks of it about families too,'' said Pam as she watched Kate take Alex into her arms. "This is Kate Castleton. She is CEO of one of the largest agricultural companies in the state."

"You do know I have really bright people figuring this out for me don't you?" said a flattered and embarrassed Kate.

"Sure, but it still takes brains and guts to implement their recommendations. And the techniques you have implemented have benefitted everyone. Better yields increase your bottom line and mean cheaper food for the rest of use. And your targeted instead of indiscriminate use of fertilizer and pesticides has to be better for all of use."

"Pam you sound like a company shill," laughed Kate.

"Like I said, I as was impressed with the profile. Now for the tour. We will walk through four types of California Native Gardens. We will start with a High Plains Garden, move to a Central Valley Garden, then a Dunes garden and finish up in garden that I'm sure our distinguished quest will find quite interesting.

Karl watched Alex and Kate as they walked through the gardens. The look of attention and concentration on Alex's face surprised him. He's too young to understand any of this isn't he? Karl asked himself. The high plain garden featured low water plaints like the alpine phlox, bluebonnet, desert marigold, lemon mint and the plains wallflower. Karl was amazed at the mixtures of colors, sizes and shapes.

The Central Valley Garden was a riot of flowers and colors. "Humming birds" exclaimed Karl.

"Yes," said Pam. If you want to attract these little guys to your garden then you need lots of bright flowers. These guys are fun to watch and amazing. The zoo builds houses and habitats for them. I'm a plant person at heart, but I admit I could watch them for hours.

"In the dunes garden we have a lot more variety than you would think," said Pam. "For this garden we have only selected plants of the central coast region. If you go up or down the coast the plants will change. 'She's right' thought Karl. There had to be at least thirty different types of grasses, shrubs and flowers here.

"You're trying to put me out of business, "laughed Kate as they entered the last garden. It was a home vegetable garden and contained rows of onions, tomato plants, squash, rhubarb, strawberries, spinach and…

"As much as I like flowers, I like eating more," confessed Pam. "And that makes this my favorite garden."

Kate handed Alex off to Karl and bent down to look more closely at the plants. In no time Kate and Pam were in a deep discussion. The discussion ended with Kate opening her purse and giving Pam a business card. "Let's get some lunch," Kate announced. "I'm famished."

After lunch Kate knew that they were heading for Karl's favorite exhibit in the zoo, 'The Kat House'. For a reason she didn't know he seemed to be extremely interested in them. Maybe it's a little boy thing she thought. After a few steps she caught Karl starring at her. Then it hit her. She was humming the 'Promenade' from 'Pictures at an Exhibition.' "What?" she said defensively. "It's a fine piece of music. And it kind of fits."

"Yes it does," agreed Karl. "I think a copy-cat piece about the animals at the zoo would be spectacular."

"Don't forget the gardens," added Kate.

"Of course not Dear. If you don't mind?"

"What?"

"Start again?"

Blushing, Kate started again, but this time she had a Karl's whistling accompaniment.

As the Petting Zoo was for Alex, and the Gardens were for Kate, the Kat House was definitely Karl's venue. The first part of the exhibit was underground. This allowed the patrons to see the smaller nocturnal cats asleep in their dens. The bigger cats had more open air enclosures. Karl hurried through the nocturnal section and up to the big cats section. The problem with big cats is that they are finicky. Sometimes they are out in the yard, most often they were not.

Of all of the big cats Karl's favorite was clearly the jaguar. He was amazed at their size, third largest behind only the lions and tigers, and the second fastest. What really amazed him was that most people did not know that jaguars are native to the United States. Most people just thought of them as South American jungle cats. Today he was in luck two youngsters were playing 'tag' in the yard and a magnificent looking male was sunning himself on the rock. After watching for several minutes Karl concluded that this had been the best zoo visit ever and he reluctantly let himself be pulled onward toward the lions and tigers.

The lions were of course magnificent, and the tigers as 'stripy' as ever. As they were about to leave the viewing area in front of the empty Siberian Tiger enclosure, Alex gave out a cry of panic. Both parents dove toward their son. Kate's superior 'Mother's instinct and reflexes' won the race. "What's wrong babe?" she asked. Once in his Mother's arms, Alex's crying stopped and his head snapped toward the tiger's enclosure. Kate and Karl followed their sons gaze and spotted a magnificent female Siberian Tiger enter the yard.

'She's worried and looking for something' thought Kate. 'Wait, she's looking for something.' Mesmerized they watched her methodically search the compound. Finally she came to the sunning stones. The Castleton's watched the cat climb the stones and look out from the top some thirty feet in the air.

"He's right there," they both shouted and pointed. For the first time today they saw what appeared to be a male asleep in the shade of the rocks. "He's in the shade at the foot of the rocks," shouted Kate. The female tiger appeared to hear them, looked down, leapt, and well landed like a cat. She hurried over began to purr so loud that even the Castleton's heard her despite the distance and nuzzle her mate. Eventually he lashed out and missed.

"Wake up grumpy did he?" Karl vocalized. 'Or from the dead' thought Kate.

Eventually he lashed out again and landed….a soft touch more like a caress. A few moments later he stood up and they stood together forehead-to-forehead like two human lovers. A few seconds later she backed up and started to walk away. She stopped looked over her shoulder at her mate. She shook her caboose in the universally translated 'follow me big boy' language. The big cats bounded up to the top of the sunning stones. The male crossed over to the far side and lay down on his side. The female jumped up, crossed over, nuzzled the male once more and lay down in his arms? thought Kate.

'You found him, he's safe thank you' a voice in Kate's mind said softly and trailed off.

"How did we not see him," Karl asked. Seeing the expression play across Kate's face, "The found thing?" he asked.

"Yes," smiled Kate.

Placing Alex back into the stroller, Kate stood with beside Karl with her head on his shoulder and his arm firmly around her waist. Together they watched the Tigers fall asleep in the sunshine.

When Karl realized that they had walked through the 'California Golden Bear Country' without seeing anything he looked at Kate. "My mind is still with the Tigers," she confirmed.

Karl looked at his watch and grimaced. "It's a lot later than I thought. How about some ice cream here, then we head back to the hotel." At the mention of ice cream Alex started to bounce up and down in the stroller.

"That's one vote yes," laughed Kate.

The Doorman greeted the Castleton's as cordially and enthusiastically as always, and promised to have both cars ready to go early in the morning. "Mr. Castleton may I ask you a question?" asked the Doorman.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"You were planning to go home today right?"

"Yeah, we changed our mind."

"Wow, you guys sure are lucky. The road to Sacramento was fog bound this morning, and there were at least thirty accidents and at a lot of people died or were injured. I'm glad you guys decided to stay on for another day. It would be a real tragedy if something happened to you guys." He turned and rushed over to open the door of the cab for another patron and missed the knowing look that passed between Karl and Kate.

The trip across the hotel's lobby was uneventful. Like they had done so many times in the past, Kate and Alex went toward the elevators and Karl went to collect the messages. "I'll wait for him ma'am," said the elderly elevator operator with a nod toward Karl. "Have a pleasant outing?"

"We went to the zoo," added Karl, as he hurried into the car. "This one," he said with a hand on Alex's head, "screamed when he got kissed by a llama. And this one," he said with a gentle touch to Kate's check, "probably offered to redesign the gardens for them."

"Just the irrigation for the vegetable garden," retorted Kate. "This one," returning Karl's touch, "fell in love with a tiger."

"You must admit that she was gorgeous, and probably would eat me for lunch," Karl laughed and kissed Kate's hand.

"Here you are. Sounds like you guys had a fun time."

"We did," admitted Kate, "and thank you."

Once inside their hotel room Kate and Karl swapped burdens. Kate scanned the messages as she watched her husband and son head toward the bedroom. "Let's get your faced washed. You've got a chocolate ice cream face, and then we'll get out of those clothes and a short nap before dinner, all right?"

Kate had just started to dial the second number when she heard a blood curdling cry come from the bed room. Rushing in she saw Alex sitting in his crib crying with tears running down his face and Karl standing next to him and in a state of shock. "Hey there," she cooed "I'll have not of that." Reaching in she picked up her son, kissed his forehead and held him close. "Just a short nap. We'll get you up for supper. Don't worry. We're eating in tonight. Afterwards Mom will give you a bath. Then dressed in clean jammies you can play till the Sandman comes ok?"

All during Kate's speech Alex quieted down and was almost asleep in her arms. Laying him back down she kissed his forehead again, "Short nap till supper love."

"Mother's touch," Karl whispered. Kate flashed Karl her best smile and walked out of the room toward the phone, her messages and her other world. Karl took a deep breath, shook his head and let his breath out slowly and decided he needed a swim.

By the time Karl emerged from the bedroom Kate had finished the fifth message. She could tell from Karl's body language and facial expression something was bothering him. Putting the phone back down on its cradle, "Hon, what's wrong?" she asked. Karl now had her complete and total attention.

"Going for a swim," he replied laconically as he continued to head towards the door.

"Hon?" Asked Kate in a low voice full of concern.

Karl continued for several steps and stopped with his hand on the door knob. "Where did the Tiger come from Kate?" asked Karl finally turning to look at his wife. His pent-up uncertainty overruling his interpretation of the look of concern on Kate's face he continued in a strained voice. "Oh, I can understand a premonition thing about the fog. Part of me can believe that you have a Sister-in-Time and she warned you about the fog. But I can't understand how we missed the Tiger and how the Tiger's felt like us, but not like us."

At the mention of a Sister-in-Time Kate started hurrying towards Karl. "Something extraordinary did happen today, "she said. "We had a great time at the zoo. I don't know what would have happened if we had went home as we had planned. Maybe we would have got caught in the mess, maybe not. All I know is that my family is safe." Taking a deep breath she continued. "As far as the Tiger is concerned, I don't know. I felt it too, but I don't care if I understand it or not. It was nice. If I do have a Sister-in-Time," she reached out to touch Karl's face "Oh" …. Karl was replaced by a ruggedly handsome man who had a face used to laughing. Right now he was smiling and his eyes. …His eyes seemed to say. 'I love you and only you. It made Kate feel warm all over. Karl looked at her that way sometimes and it was wonderful. "…then she can warn me anytime she wants…. Karl… Did you… was she."

"Beautiful, yes,… and her eyes."

"Then we're both lucky women. Each of us loves a handsome man and he loves us."

"With all my heart," confirmed Karl has he leaned in and kissed his wife. After they broke, "Go get your swim in Hon. I think the Tigers were just their avatars. They hunt murderers in New York and what better avatar then than the biggest and badest cat on the planet."

"I guess," said Karl unconvincingly as he reached for the doorknob again. "What time do you want to eat?"

"In two and a half ok?"

"Sure"

When Karl returned Alex was already up and deeply engrossed with his blocks and cars. Karl noticed three new idea books and pens on the end table by the couch. 'It looks like Kate is going to start writing again. Good,' thought Karl. Karl's eyes moved from the books to Kate as she entered the room from the bedroom. He was amazed as always by Kate's beauty. She was dressed in a dark green skirt and light green blouse. He had seen her in that outfit hundreds of times, but today she seemed especially beautiful.

Kate watched Karl's eyes sparkle as they darted from the books to her. "I bought the books and pens in Chinatown," Kate offered. " I didn't realize how much I missed it till I walked up Strawberry Hill with you the first afternoon we were here."

"Well you have the company running pretty much on its own and Alex won't need as much special attention. So why not! Got any ideas?"  
"Yes! Lots! We can talk later. No sweats for dinner okay? They should be here in five minutes."

When Karl emerged, dinner had already been laid out and Kate was feeding Alex. "You eat, I'll finish feeding Alex." Eventually dinner was over and Mother and Son rushed out for a bath and a change of clothes and Karl called room service to fetch the dishes. Karl was settled in a chair, reading the evening paper and listening to the radio when Kate and Alex returned. His son went straight to his toys to conduct another one in the endless car versus wall battles he seemed to delight in and Kate settled on the couch opened up an idea book and started writing.

Kate secretly admired how Karl could get down on the floor and play with Alex. She loved her son dearly, but didn't know is she could do that with him. Luckily she had a big kid who seemed to take as much pleasure in it as the little one. Kate saw Alex sit-up straight, yawn, and then blink. "Bedtime Dad, she called out. She rose from the couch and accompanied them into the bedroom. She bent down and kissed Alex on the forehead like she had done hundreds of times in the past. "Sleep well," she hummed. "Tomorrow we will be home again."

Kate was sure that Alex was asleep before they left the bedroom. Entering the sitting room she went to the bar and poured herself a glass of wine and a soda for Castle before returning to the couch.

Karl nodded his thanks for the drink. After taking a sip he asked "ideas?"

"This one' **The Rotten Apples Affair' **is about my Sister-in-Time, as you call her, and her husband. I'm going to start it now. I have no idea when I will finish it."

"Ok"

"This one '**The Strawberry Hill Murders' **will be fun.

Karl read the dedication and smiled. "That dedication will have your fans guessing."

"Yes," sparkled Kate. "Won't it."

"What's it about."

"Well a series of bodies is found on top of Strawberry Hill and no one can figure out how they got there. They always show up on the new moon. To complicate matters and as a perfectly marvelous red herring I'm going to throw in animal tracks."

"Let me guess tiger tracks."

"Why yes, two pairs of tiger tracks. They will be present at every place the police investigate."

"Like they were stalking the victims?"

"No, like they had beat the Police to the scene and had investigated. While the Police higher-ups focused their attention on the tracks, the detective focused on the facts and eventually solves the case."

"So the tigers don't play a role at all?"

"I'm going to write in that the Detective hears a warning growl, stops in his tracks and avoids a trap. I'm also going to put in the capture scene that the bad guy feels like he is being hunted, and he thinks he sees feline shapes. This distraction enables the Detective to make the arrest cleanly. I need to find away to make them both visible to the Detective and then they disappear."

"Like the Cheshire Cat."

"Yes, except that way's taken. I'm also going to need a new Detective. I think I'll start a new San Francisco based Detective. I'll make him a smart gun-nut."

"What's his name?"

"Don't know yet, I was thinking of James Fortaine. Oh this is going to be fun."

Karl watched Kate eagerly write in her book. After a moment. "Oh Darius?" Kate looked up in confusion, "When my wife comes back tell her I'll wait for over there," he said with a wave toward the chair in front of the radio.

"Yes dear," Kate responded automatically. A couple of minutes later Kate was startled when she heard a loud snore. 'At least he outlasted Alex' she smiled.

Sometime later Kate heard the door to the suite open and her Father came literally waltzing in. "I won the Tournament," he announced.

"Shush," answered Kate with a finger to her lips and a glance at Karl. Henry came over, gave his daughter a peck on her check and whispered, "Best day ever! I tell you about it tomorrow. "

"He's going to be insufferable," said Karl.

"I heard that," said Henry with a laugh as he closed the door to his bedroom.

Kate looked over at her husband. He had one eye open and was looking at her. The radio just started a slow dance tune. Putting down her books Kate crossed over to Karl and held out her hand. In their stocking feet they danced to the music in front of the windows overlooking San Francisco. When the song ended Kate looked up into Karl's eyes and said, "Bedtime Dad," in a strangely husky voice.

**Chapter 14 [Day 7 Wednesday]**

**Castle's story**

Tom checked his watch. It was ten till five. His partner would be here shortly. They had an hour's plus drive to the search point and Tom wanted to complete the inventory and be on his way before the traffic started to build. He had drawn an extra climbers kit and two small infant harnesses from supply. Tom saw the flash of the headlights and heard the roar of his partner's truck. Tom watched his partner store his lunch and a thermos of coffee in the back and place another thermos and a bag of doughnuts in the cab of their vehicle.

"Let me clock in. Anything new?" Frank said as he walked toward the door.

"I logged you in a couple of minutes ago. We don't have anything new. "

"Do you think she made it?"

"Frankly, no. But after the appeal on TV we are going to do our best to find her. Check the flashlights will you?"

Five minutes later they were on the road and the chatter was that of two friends comfortable with themselves, their partner, and the job they had to do.

Tom pulled on to the shoulder and parked near the mile seventy-one marker. The sun had not yet risen, but it was still light enough to see. He and his partner got out walked to the rear of the vehicle opened the equipment compartment and began putting on their climbers gear.

"I love these things," said Frank as he handed Tom his radio headset. "Radio check Local is Fox, say again Local is Fox…Fox1 this Fox 2." He saw his partner give him a thumb up. "Base, this is Fox2 we are on site and starting our search. "

"Good luck Foxy," replied Sue Campbell, the day time dispatcher for the sector.

Tom had to agree. This was the "Roaming Crew" radio system. The crew had light weight headsets. The headsets only had to make contact with the truck and had a range of just over a mile. The truck would store and rebroadcast the transmission. True the relay caused some time delays but it was worth it. Anything he said that began with Fox would go Frank anything that began with Base would be transmitted to base. Prior to this system the crews had to be physically in the vehicle to contact base and the time lost had cost lives. This system allowed them to do a real search. If they found anything they could call it in and stay with the victim until help arrived. Already the system had saved at least three lives.

"Mile chunks?" asked Frank.

"Yeah, I'll head up. Call if you see anything."

At the seventy-two mile marker Tom saw a splash of color near the bottom of ravine. The normally placid stream was churning due to the rains that had fallen in the mountains and drained here. Beyond the guide wires there was a five foot flat area then the drop-off was almost vertical. If anybody is down there they would have to walk downstream at least ten miles to get out. There was no way a one-year old could survive. Raising his binoculars to his eyes he looked at the splash of color. It looked like the torso of a man. Immediately to the right of the man was a dirty white object. 'Car seat?' thought Tom. Scanning upstream he saw the top of a car submerged in the stream.

"Fox2, Frank I may have something. I'm near seventy-two. I'm going to tie off and go down and look, over."

"Fox 1, Copy. I'll bring the truck up."

Tom tied off his line and started to repel down toward the splash of color. As he got close he heard a soft whimper. Tom increased his pace. The whimpering was coming from a blue bundle that was lying on top of a man. The man was breathing but appeared to be unconscious. Tom shifted the jacket to look at the baby's face.

"Hello darling," he said in a soft gentle voice.

"If you are the wakeup service," said the man, "then go away. I'm having a bad dream in which I was driving to Sacramento and got my ass ran off the road."

"Sorry," said Tom with a grin. "I'm the rescue service."

"What kept you?" croaked the man.

"Traffic," replied Tom immediately liking the guy. "What's the baby's name?"

"Don't know. I found her when I exited my car."

"Then her name is April," said Tom.

"Let me guess, you guys are out looking for her."

"You got it. Since you're here we'll rescue you too. I'm Tom. Who are you?"

"I'm Castle, Richard Castle. Could you hand me that hanky? Let's see if she will take some water….Here Lady have some water. They will have some real food for you soon. I bet your Mom and Dad will be happy to see you."

"Yes they will," echoed Tom. "They made it and you will be with your Mom soon. Let me call this in."

"Base, this is Fox 1. We have two survivors at the mile seventy-two marker, a baby, probably April, and a thirtyish Caucasian male. Over."

"Great news Fox , what is their condition over."

"Condition?" asked Tom.

"When I changed her diaper, she seemed fine. No cuts or bruises, that sort of thing. Me I think my right arm is broken and I have something major wrong with my ankle or foot."

"Base, the baby seems fine. The male has a broken arm and foot. Over."

"Copy, Be advised two ground ambulances are in route ETA 1 hour. Delta has been diverted, ETA thirty minutes over."

"Copy"

"Castle the Calvary is on its way. We need to figure out how to get you guys out."

"Helo out?"

"Yeah, the winds are too squirrely."

"If you got another rig and a winch, you can haul my ass out. I can use my good leg and arm to fend off the wall. If you haul slowly I should be able to make it. What can we do about her?"

"I packed an infant sized papoose sling that attaches to the front of our rig. So getting her out is no problem. And your idea about being winched out actually seems sound."

Castle watched Tom's eyes go distant.

"My partners topside and will be down shortly."

"Have him bring a good scotch."

"How about coffee?"

"Great, milk for April?"

"Sorry" Tom looked over his should at the stream. Something didn't seem right. "I'm going to walk the stream for a ways. Don't go anywhere."

"Funny," replied Castle.

Tom looked down at the mud beside the stream and saw two pairs of the biggest cat tracks he had ever seen. Whatever made these tracks would scare the piss out of any cougar in the local area. He followed the tracks downstream for a quarter mile. They stopped abruptly and then disappeared. Five yards ahead were the tracks of a pack of coyotes. Apparently the coyotes took one look at this pair of cats and hightailed it. I don't blame them, but where did the cats go?

When Tom arrived back Frank was helping Castle into the spare climbing rig. "Dave will be here in about ten," said Frank. "We'll have him operate the winch. We will be on the headset with him. So we will be able to control your ascent. All you need to do is use your good foot and push away from the rocks. While you are away the winch will lift you toward the top. Got it?"

"Yeah," replied Castle." I'm a one legged kangaroo."

Both Tom and Frank laughed heartily at the remark. For with April strapped to his harness he did look the part. Tom checked and double checked Castle's harness. "Topside's in position. The ambulance is five out, her parents seven. You ready to go Mr. Castle?"

"Yeah." As he stood up and shifted around April started to cry. Castle reached in and pulled back his jacket a bit from her face and gently touched her cheek. "I know you don't like your face covered Lady, but I don't want anything hitting it ok? Stick with me kiddo I get you back into your parent's arms soon ok?"

Aprils cry turned into a sob, then a hiccup and then a smile.

"Kids Castle?"

"Grown daughter in college."

"You still got the touch."

Castle looked from Tom to Frank, "Let's go guys. This Lady has a date topside, and I need to tell my Lady that I'm alright before she decides to kill me."

"Understand that. Dave we're set down hear. Haul away slowly." After a little trial and error they found a hauling speed that Castle could handle. 'This could be fun' thought Castle. 'That is if I didn't have a broken arm and foot.'

"STOP, STOP, screamed Tom. Castle felt the tugging stop and he looked up. The overhang loomed above him. "You aren't going to be able to hop over that," said Frank.

"How about spinning me around and just dragging be across it?"

"You sure?" asked Tom.

"No, but I don't see any other choice."

"Me neither. Okay. Dave start again SLOWLY. You are dragging him across an overhang."

Tom watched Castle wince as he was scrapped across the rocky overhang. He winched in sympathy when he saw Castle bang his broken foot on the wall and heard him gasp in pain. "Dave stop. We're clear of the cliff. They watched Castle protect April as he slowly gathered his good leg and arm under him. "I'm good," Castle called out. When the tug began Castle began his one-legged kangaroo imitation. "Stop," croaked Castle as he reached the gentle slope section immediately next to guard wires. Castle fell and twisted to protect April. He felt the tugging stop just as his back touched the guide wires.

"Castle Stay down," said Tom. Castle felt slack in his harness and rolled onto his back. In seconds the med-techs had collected April and were headed for the ambulance with April's parents in tow. "Bye Lady," croaked Castle.

Castle slumped down on his back. After a moment he began fumbling with the latches on his rig. "Here I got that," said Tom. Two minutes later Frank and Tom had stripped the harness off of Castle and had lifted across the guard wires. "Hey," yelled Tom. "Can we get some help here for the other survivor?" as one of the ambulances pealed out toward Sacramento.

"Sorry Tom," said of the Med-techs as he rushed over. "We thought he was one of yours. " In moment s they had Castle prone in the stretcher, his right arm and left foot immobilized. They placed heat packs on his chest and covered him with a blanket.

"Mr. Castle who should we notify?" asked a California Highway Patrol Officer.

"Detective Kate Beckett, at the 12th in New York. Don't call her until you can tell her the extent of my injuries. I don't want her to trade one set of worries for another. "The Officer, a veteran of many notifications, both good and bad nodded his understanding. "We can do that," he affirmed.

As the ambulance pulled away Castle felt the adrenaline rush of the rescue subside. The warmth of the heat packs caused Castle to become drowsy. 'I'm safe love,' he thought. 'Come get me please.' For the rest of ride to the hospital Castle was in a deep sleep.

The press was out in full force when the ambulance containing April and her mother arrived at the hospital. In the ambulance they had taken Castle's jacket off of April and given it to her Mom for safe keeping. In the rush into the hospital Castle's voice recorder fell out of his jacket and at the feet of a reporter. The reporter picked it up and pressed the 'Play' button:

"My name is Richard Castle. If I don't make it please see that my wife, Detective Kate Beckett at the 12th precinct in New York City gets this. If I do make it, then please return it to me for the obvious reasons….."

'This is pure gold,' he thought as left the horde of the reporters at the hospital and returned to his office.

**Kate's Story**

Kate arrived at the 12th a little earlier than usual. She had not slept well last night. After the hot chocolate she had tried to go back to sleep. Despite the sweat clothes, and the extra blanket Kate felt cold and kept waking up every forty minutes or so. She felt tired and grumpy, and the case work was not helping. After two and a half hours of cross connected Holding Companies Kate was able to determine that the house the suspects had been apprehended in belonged to Salad Fork LLC, and the address on the incorporation documents was PO Box 389 Twin Ox, Saskatchewan. What made matters worse is that Kate could not find a listing for the city.

Kate threw down her pen in disgust and stomped into the break room to make herself her fourth cup of coffee this morning. When she turned to head back to her desk her path was blocked by Ryan and Esposito. "What's wrong Kate?" Esposito asked in a quiet voice.

"This case," exclaimed Kate. "They took our suspects before we could question them and now I've tracked back the owner of the house back to a town in Canada that probably doesn't exist."

"That's not it," Ryan said firmly.

Kate looked from one of her friends face to the other, took a shuttering breath and said. "It's Castle. He's missing. He never made it to the hotel last night. He must have got caught in the fog mess yesterday."

"Yeah," said Esposito. "He's alright. He was probably helping out somebody and hasn't made it in yet."

"I said something like that to Gina last night. I didn't believe it then and I don't now." The conversation was interrupted by Kate's phone going off. It was Dr. Perlmutter.

"Good morning Perlmutter. What do you have for us?" Kate answered.

"Your friends at the FBI were very quick and through," he began.  
"Wait, I'm with Esposito and Ryan let me put you on speaker… Go ahead Doctor."

"As I said your friends at the FBI are very good and through. The DNA of the blood they found in the truck and on the garrote matches Mikes. Those guys definitely did it."

"Yeah but we don't know which one," said Ryan.

"We could charge all four," said Esposito.

Kate nodded her head," Call the ADA and start the paperwork. I'll ask Captain Gates about applying some pressure to allow us to talk to them. Thanks Perlmutter."

"Anytime Detective."

Captain Gates looked up when Detective Beckett knocked on her door. 'She seems off somehow' thought Gates. "Yes Detective?"

"Sir, the FBI faxed the blood test results to Doctor Perlmutter on both the smear in the truck cab and on the garrote. It is Mike's blood Sir. Those guys did kill him. I have Esposito talking to the ADA and filling out the paperwork to charge all four now. Also I've gotten nowhere in determining the owner of the house where we caught the suspects yesterday. The ownership is buried so deep I'm sure it's a Government owned safe house."

"Probably, anything else Detective?"

"Has the Chief's of D's responded to the request for helping us to get to talk to the suspects? If we can't talk to them then we are effectively done. All the evidence points to the guys and gals the Marshalls took from Processing yesterday."

"No he hasn't. Assume that you aren't going to be able to talk to the suspects and wrap up the paperwork. I know it is an unsatisfying way to end a case. Especially the way you guys manufactured your clues out of thin air. Good job by the way, but I don't see a way we are going to get to talk to the suspects. At least not with the treason charges outstanding. "

Kate stood motionless for several seconds. "Anything else on your mind Detective?"

"Ah,… no Sir. I'll pass the at-a-boy to the Team. Thank you Sir."

Captain Gates knew something was bothering her Detective. She watched Beckett leave the office and got up walked around her desk and followed her into the bull-pen. She watched Beckett reach for her phone and stumble, almost swoon into her chair. Rushing forward the Captain heard Kate say "Say again." Captain Gates watched Kate bow her head and say in voice filled with relief and joy, "Thank God."

Kate looked up and saw three sets of eyes intensely studying her. She nodded in their general direction, closed her eyes and began parroting back in a shaky voice that got stronger as she went on, "Castle has been found….He is in a hospital in Sacramento….His lower right arm is broken….Several bones in his left foot are broken….He's being treated for hypothermia, and is responding….. A touch of frostbite, nothing serious….No permanent damage…Release as early as tomorrow, no later than the day after…. Thank you Doctor... What was the name of the hospital again? ….Mercy? Thanks."

"Detective Kate Beckett you are now on emergency leave. Go get that big lug of yours before he really hurts himself," announced Captain Gates.

"Yes Sir… Sacramento? How do I get to Sacramento?"

All eyes in the bull-pen watched Kate make flight reservations, hand her keys to her cruiser to Kevin and sprint toward the elevators. Just as the elevator doors were closing their attention was drawn to a picture of Castle on the TV.

"As was reported earlier this morning," began the male announcer "In the aftermath of the fog that blanketed I-80 yesterday, California authorities announced the rescue of a man and a small child early this morning. Early reports had the survivors as daughter and father. We have now learned that the child is 9 month old April Ann Peterson from Rancho Cordova and the male is New York's own Richard Castle."

"Details are sketchy," added the female announcer, "but Mr. Castle is credited with saving the baby's life. Other tidbits coming from the site of the rescue tell us that Mr. Castle cut of part of his shirt to fashion at least one diaper for the baby and last night he went coatless as he used his jacket to bundle up April."

"Reports from the hospital," continued the male announcer, "indicate that April came through the ordeal without a scratch and suffered no harm in her overnight stay. We have no details on Mr. Castle's injuries. They are reported to be moderate, not life-threatening, and he is expected to recover fully. When he returns we need to get him on the show. I'm sure he has a story or two to tell."

"April was apparently ejected from her parent's vehicle in the collision," said the female announcer. "The parents are sure that the ejection saved April's life. When they woke up from the collision they saw that the whole back end of their vehicle had been crushed. If April had remained in the car then she would have certainly died. … April sure is a lucky young lady. She got plucked out of the car by a guardian angel and handed to a White Knight to protect her through the night…. And you're right, I can't wait to hear Castle's story."

The two Detectives and the Captain exchanged glances. Somehow in a desperate situation their friend had managed to save an innocent life, and now their dearest friend was on her way to be with her husband. Esposito looked at the spot beside Kate's desk where Castle normally sat and said, "We're going to need a new chair."

"One's on order," the Captain replied. 'That's not going to be the only new thing around her unless a certain Captain gets her tail in gear and supports her troops.' Gathering her resolve Captain Gates walked back into her office, closed her door and called the DA.

"Captain Gates for DA Thomas, please," Gates told the DA's gatekeeper.

"Good morning Captain Gates," said DA Arthur Thomas in a voice that had spent years on the courtroom floor. "I'll bet it's about the Holland Case, and you are calling to ask me to help you get access to the suspects the U.S. Marshall took yesterday."

"Yes Sir," the Captain replied immediately impressed.

"I had a talk with Detective Beckett yesterday."

"I see," said the Captain frostily.

"It's not like that Captain," rejoined the DA. His ability to understand the nuances in people's voices had helped him become a leading prosecutor. "Detective Beckett did not go over your head, nor around you. If fact yesterday she called one of my people too ask for help and guidance. I just happened to be part of the conversation."

"Okay," responded Gates even more impressed with the DA and Beckett for trying to find a solution instead of accepting the status quo.

"I told her yesterday that I did not think we stood a change of being able to talk to them. Last night I thought I would give it a try, after all your people captured them. Right now I have an appointment with the AG in his office sometime this afternoon. I was about to call Detective Beckett to see if she could accompany me."

"She won't be able to Sir," replied Captain Gates. "She got a call this morning informing her that her husband, Richard Castle, had been in an accident. I sent her out on emergency leave."

"Do you know the extent of Rick's injuries?"

Somehow Gates was not surprised that the DA would call Castle by his first name. "Broken arm and foot. Nothing really serious or permanent."

"Good, good. Good that Rick is going to be okay and good that you sent Kate to be with him. Castle unsupervised in a hospital is a scary thought…..Captain, are you available to accompany me today? We'll leave on the 2:05 Shuttle and be back on the 7:o5 Shuttle this evening."

"Id…I'd be honored Sir."

"Good I'll have Mary call you with the final details."

Captain Gates noticed that the AG's outer office was simply furnished with comfortable chairs and work tables, many of which were in use by men and women whose tailoring for their business suits exceed her budget for clothes for an entire year.

"Good afternoon Professor. It's good to see you again," said the AG's chief receptionist and gatekeeper.

"It's been a while Nancy. I know we are a couple of minutes early."

"No one is with him. Let me see if he is ready for you."

"Professor?" asked Gates.

"I was between jobs, so I taught for a couple of years," the DA replied instantly. "It was a humbling experience."

All further discussion stopped when the door opened and the AG walked out. "Arthur, it's been a while. I'm glad you could come down."

"Jim," said the DA after the men had shaken hands, "may I present Captain Victoria Gates. She is in charge of the 12th precinct. Captain the AG, James Harding." The AG was in his early fifties, tall, lean, lively brown eyes and had a predominant New England accent. He was dressed in a light gray suit, light blue shirt and a club tie. He looked every bit the chief prosecutor of the United States

"Sir,"

"Captain, come on in you two. I've asked Nancy to pour us some coffee." Once inside the AG's office he led them to a conference table by the eastern looking windows.

"Thanks Nancy," said Arthur.

"You're welcome Professor," she replied with a genuine smile. "It is nice to see you again."

"Quit trying to steal my staff," the AG chuckled. "You got Mary. You don't need Nancy."

"Mary's threatening to retire."

"Again? She just does that to force you to give her a raise."

"Really," replied Arthur with a laugh, "It does seem to work."

"Arthur I know why you are here and I can't help you."

"You could have told me that on the phone and saved me a trip."

"Oh, I know you want to break your diet and sneak a bowl of clam chowder from 'Legal's' and besides I don't think you will go home empty handed."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Arthur the Office of the Attorney General of the United States will provide the DA of the City of New York with an Affidavit identifying Mike Holland's killer, his accomplice and co-conspirators. It will clearly state who the killer was and the roles of the others….Also you have the personal word of this AG that these four will not breathe free air as long as this Office stands."

"In exchange for what Jim? You could have told me this on the phone."

"I need the DA of the City of New York agree never to seek prosecution of these people." When Jim saw Arthur shift uncomfortably. "Arthur these people are behind bars. The trail is in two months and they will remain behind bars for a long-long time. Right now they are looking at fifteen consecutive sentences; each one has a minimum twenty year price tag and considering they were caught with the stolen material in their possession, it's a slam dunk."

"Okay, what else?"

The AG shifted his gaze to Captain Gates. "I need the NYPD to turn over all case files, case notes, private notes, evidence and work products for both the murder and the robbery. I need the NYPD to stop its investigation into this series of events. I can't tell you how many alarms went off today when Beckett was during her search for the property owner."

"Salad Fork LLC, from Twin Ox, Saskatchewan," offered Captain Gates. "You guys ought to get Castle to devise your legends. He does a much better job in his books." Captain Gates saw the AG flinch when she mentioned the LLC and the location. 'What's going on here?' she asked herself.

"I can convince the Chief to agree," said Arthur. "How soon?"

"I have the letters on my desk." The AG went to his desk, picked up several sheets of paper and an envelope. After handing them to Arthur he sat back down.

"Arthur, I thought you said Detective Beckett would be accompanying you. I wanted a chance to speak to her again."

"Detective Beckett's husband, Richard Castle, was rescued today. He is in a hospital in Sacramento. She left to be with him," said Captain Gates.

"Castle. My people completely missed her involvement with him the first time. Tell me Captain, you see them every day. What kind of hold does he have on her?"

Captain Gates was speechless. "The first time? You make it sound like there is going to be another time."

"This case proves, again, that she is one of the best investigators in the country. I'm more than willing to overlook her independent streak. I was hoping to sound her out and see if she would consider coming back to work for us."

"Are you married Sir?"

"Yes, for over twenty-five years. I don't see…."

"And your wife is a lawyer right?"

"Yes but…"

"Are you willing to take a bullet for your wife, sacrifice your fortune, your liberty and everything you hold dear so that she could live another second. Are you willing to walk back into a room bomb trapped room knowing that in less than five minutes you both will die unless you figure a way out…."

"Is your wife willing to die for you, become disbarred, and sacrifice her job, her position, her reputation to save you?" Captain Gates watched the AG's eyes flick to the conference table and stay there. "These are things I have personally witnessed Castle and Kate repeatedly do for each other. The hold he has on her is the same she has on him. They love each other. Not the teenagers in back of a car type of love. But the love Shakespeare would have been honored to write about. ….Unless your recruitment plan for Kate includes a spot for Castle then you are doomed to failure."

"I can't have a loose cannon like Castle in my organization."

"Then I am in no danger of losing Detective Beckett to you again, Sir," said Captain Gates with an air of absolute certainty.

"These look good Jim. Send Captain Gates a warning when your people come over to pick up the stuff," said Arthur as he stood up to depart.

"Sure thing Arthur. It's always a pleasure to do business with you. Captain Gates, a pleasure meeting you. Please give my regards to Detective Beckett. "

"Certainly Sir."

Kate bounded out of the taxi and charged into the main entrance of Mercy hospital. "Richard Castle?" Kate asked the volunteer at the welcome desk.

"Room 347. The elevators are to your left round the corner and halfway down the hallway."

"Thanks," smiled Kate as she turned and hurried toward the hallway. Rounding the corner she saw a pair of uniform officers strolling toward her. Three steps away from the elevator Kate froze when she heard "GUN partner!"

Keeping her hands at her side Kate turned toward the voice. The owner of the shout was a youngster. 'Was I every that young?' Kate thought. Turning her head further to her left she saw the senior member of the team. "Sergeant…Williamson I'm Detective Kate Beckett. My husband is…"

"Richard Castle. He is in room 347. We'll escort you," said the Sergeant as he came forward and pushed the UP button for the elevator.

"Sergeant?" questioned his partner as they entered the elevator.

"Rookie, if you would have listened to the Watch Sergeant instead of flirting with Sam you would have heard him brief that the Detective was flying in from New York to be with her husband. He even displayed a picture of her, which doesn't do you justice Detective. We were asked to extend to her every professional courtesy, which we are going to do. "

After entering the elevator, "But Sergeant, she might be dangerous," persisted the Rookie.

Sergeant Williamson turned, looked at Kate and gave her a nod. Turning back to his partner he said, "I'm sure Detective Becket is very dangerous. Right now I'm betting she is only dangerous to those people that are between her and her husband. That is why we are escorting her. We are going to do our best to prevent her from needing to act dangerous."

As the elevator doors opened the Officers heard a low buzz of conversation. The closer they got to Castle's room, the louder the buzz became. As they rounded the last bend Kate stopped dead in her tracks. "A press conference," Kate vocalized. "Castle doesn't need a press conference."

Before Kate could wade into the rear of the gathering Sergeant Williamson whispered, "Detective, display your shield. It will buy you some space."

Nodding, Kate extracted her shield, hung it around her neck on the chain and proceeded toward the rear of the crowd. She stopped just outside the doorway to Castle's room. She had a clear view of his face. He looked tired and in pain. It was being masked by the painted on smile she he seen often enough. He only wore it when he was doing book signings. She started to press forward, but stopped when she saw Castle hand a young baby to a young woman. 'What does a baby have to do with anything?' "Excuse me," she repeated as she pushed her way to the front. She noticed people start to complain, saw the badge and then give way.

'Rick is really out of it,' thought Kate. He only responded to her when she grabbed his free hand and said, "Hi Babe."

"Kate?"

"Yeah I made it." She tenderly touched his check and looked into his eyes. The pupils were huge. 'They must have given him the good stuff,' she thought. 'The lights must hurt.' "This interview is over," Kate announced to the room.

"You can't do that. Who are you?"

Kate turned to face the crowd. As she did she changed hands so that she could remain in contact with Castle. Also her facial expression changed from that of a loving concerned spouse to that of a predator, a huntress. "I'm Mrs. Castle. Rick is my husband. It is a wife's duty to preserve and protect the health of her husband. Castle has been through an ordeal and needs his rest. This interview is over."

"Mrs. Castle where were you… When did you…"

"Look I will answer those questions, but not here. There is an open space right before the elevators. I will gladly meet you there. Sergeant Williamson could you conduct these people to that location?"

"My pleasure Detective. This way people."

As the press reluctantly were leaving the room Kate found herself the subject of a fierce hug. "Your husband saved my daughter's life," said a teary and joyful voice. "He saved April's life."

Extracting herself she turned around and saw a young man and woman in their early twenties holding a baby girl.

"Of course he did," Kate temporized. "Castle was born a White Knight and has never grown out of it. It's one of the many things I love about him." The mother gave Kate another more subdued hug and left with her husband and her daughter in her arms.

A face at the doorway caught Kate's attention. "Gina? Gina your family you don't have to go."

Gina shook her head, "I'm sorry Kate."

"The accident wasn't your fault," replied Kate.

Gina came close and whispered, "I screwed-up Kate. I set-up the Press Conference. I didn't know they had Castle on that potent a pain reliever. And once it started and did not know how to stop it."

"Okay, " said Kate. "No harm done. Let's get out of here and let Castle rest." Gina nodded and started to walk out of the room.

"Kate," croaked Castle. "You're coming back aren't you?"

"Yes Babe," said Kate as she returned to his bed side bent down and gave Castle a brief kiss. "I didn't fly all the way out her to leave you alone. "

"Hurry back… Have I told you I love you today?"

"Oh babe," hushed Kate with suddenly moist eyes. "I'll hurry back."

When Kate left she turned off the lights and closed the door. She would not be surprised if Castle was asleep when she returned. Steeling herself, she walked the halls toward the Press, toward the interview. Kate quickly occupied the spot they had left for her. Holding up her hand, "Before we start, two things. My name is Kate, and I want to thank you for leaving Castle's room and agreeing to do the interview here."

Kate handled the normal "Where were you? What did you think? How did you feel?" questions with her normal style.

"How far along are you?" asked the reporter from the local station.

"Excuse me?"

"In Castle's message to you he asked your forgiveness for leaving you alone to raise your unborn child."

"What message?" asked an exasperated Kate?

"Here let me play it for you," said another reporter.

After a few moments,

"My name is Richard Castle. If I don't make it please see that my wife, Detective Kate Beckett at the 12th precinct in New York City gets this. If I do make it, then please return it to me for the obvious reasons…. I'm in a jam Kate. If this story has a happy ending then someone else is going to have to write it. I got ran off the road and now I'm at the bottom of a ravine that is so steep that I doubt I could climb out even if I didn't have a broken arm and leg….Please forgive me love. I know I promised I would never leave you, and we planned to enjoy life together and now I'm stuck down here and probably won't make it. Which means I'm leaving you alone….I would give everything to see you one more time. To hear your voice one more time. To….

…I need to ask your forgiveness for something else. I know I'd promised to sleep with no other female. But when you hear this I will have. …She is maybe a year old and has the biggest and cutest brown eyes I have ever seen. I don't know how she got here. I imagine that her parents are worried sick. …. I hope they made it. I'm going to do everything I can to see that she has a chance of surviving the night. That means I will be holding someone other than you in my arms tonight. … Please forgive me. … Right now she is acting braver than I feel and giving me the courage to think we might make it.

….Kate I sorry I'm won't be there for the birth of our child. I…..Please forgive me.

…One last thing. If you find someone else who makes you happy then…You deserve to be happy.

…Kate have I told you I love you today?"

For the duration of the message the TV crews were in prime time. They got to watch the emotions play across a beautiful woman's very expressive face. "I'm so grateful that April and Rick made it out okay," began Kate in a clear and strong voice, despite her obviously moist eyes. "That I'm not going to do a couple of things that the Detective in me cries out to me to do. I'm not going to ask how a message with the obvious privacy disclaimer got released. Nor am I going to ask why the Press thought they have a right to air it. Being an author makes Castle something of a public figure. The fact that he left a message could be considered news worthy, but not the contents…."

"Kate,…"

Beckett held up her hand, "Please excuse me, as you heard, I need to go back to my husband and convince him that he is completely and thoroughly forgiven." In a small space filled with between thirty to forty people, the only sound that was heard was Kate's footsteps as she walked back to her man, her love, her Castle.

"Mom" screamed the imperial voice of a sixteen year old teenager.

"In here Mel," her Mom, who just happened to be the First Lady of the United States, answered.

"You got to see this," Mel announced breathlessly. "It's wrong just wrong."

Reluctantly the President of the United States paused the movie they were watching. "Watch what?"

"Rewind CNN." In minutes they were watching Beckett listening to Castle's message, hearing her response and walk away. "That message was private Mom. She's right. They had no business playing it. There must be something you can do," pleaded Mel. "To bad this didn't happen in Dallas. You know people."

"Beckett?" The First Lady whispered.

"Bracken"

"Oh"

The President and his wife exchanged glances. If the President pursued it, his opponents would say that he is too easily distracted. But if the First Lady…who was once the chief ADA of Dallas, TX before she married her husband and well known to be a champion of …

"I'll look into it Dear," said the First Lady.

"Thanks Mom you're the best," said the imperial teenager as she rushed back to her room.

After the door to the family room had closed, "Don't prosecute, Mom," said Robert, Bob, their fourteen year old.

"Why?"

"Mel's right. This was private. This is worse than having a note you wrote in school read to the entire class. Let them move on. He's an author. The worse that could happen is that he'll be the butt of a couple jokes. Politely done of course, because he is armed with a pen, and she has already accepted that the message is out there. She sees the big picture; her husband and the little girl are safe, healthy and will recover. Do what needs to be done to prevent it from happening again, but don't drag them through it again. They've already left it behind."

For the second time that night the President and his Lady exchanged glances. Each was thinking 'When did our son become so wise.

"If there is anything I can do to help let me know," he continued. "….Can we get back to the movie now?"

With a press of a button 'Gypsy Danger' was once again defending Honk Kong.

"Castle?" whispered Kate as she opened the door.

"I'm awake Kate. Keep the lights off."

"Light hurt your eyes?"

"Yeah, gave me a headache."

"Thought so." Kate came in and closed the door. Even with the lights out, the light cast by the other machines in the room enabled her to see Castle well enough.

"Well," Castle asked.

"Well what?"

"I know I'm messed up, but are you knocked up?"

Kate hurried to Castle's side took his free hand in hers' and as she was studying his face said, "No, but I am going to be the mother of our children… Disappointed?"

"A little," Castle said. "It would have been awful quick if you were though."

"I know, that means we have to try…better."

"Yeah," Castle chuckled. "What did you and the reporters have to talk about?"

"You know the usual. Where was I? How did it feel? The normal senseless tripe and your message."

"Damn," whispered Castle. "It wasn't supposed to be released."

"It's okay Babe," Kate purred and gently caressed Castle's cheek. "It didn't embarrass either me or you. I thought it was sweet and I forgive you everything."

"Even April?"

"Especially April, just don't use that excuse again," smiled Kate.  
"That's good," said Castle, "because there is another woman I want to hold in my arms and sleep with… now that I know she's not knocked up."

"Castle!" squeaked Kate in shocked delight. "Not here!"

"It's not like that," said Castle as he closed his eyes and held them shut for a moment. "But I do like how you think. It's just…." Castle opened his eyes and found Kate's face inches away. "I miss my bunkmate. I miss how when we first lay down she cuddles close and warm. I miss her hand on my chest, the taste of her lips and the scent of her hair. I miss…"

The rest of the sentence was muffled as Kate kissed him and placed a finger on his lips. "I too miss my bunkmate," she confided. "I miss feeling safe with his arm around me. The beating of his heart, the sound his breath makes, and when I turn away I love how he keeps me close."

"The join me. Just for a little bit. At least until I fall asleep."

Kate gave Castle a lingering kiss and then backed away to the chair. She watched Castle watch her as she took off her shoes, unfastened her weapon belt and take off her jacket.

"You don't have to stop with your jacket," Castle suggested.

"Yes I do," affirmed Kate with a knowing smile.

Kate crossed back over to the bed, checked to make sure that Castle was tucked in and then crossed over to the left side. Standing there for a moment she carefully unbuttoned the top button of her blouse.

"Tease," whispered Castle.

Kate carefully crawled into bed with her husband. She lay within the crook of his left arm, with her head on his chest and her arm across his body. Her right leg was on top of Castle and her left was touching his. She was very careful not to make contact with his broken foot, which was slightly elevated and in a heat wrap in an attempt to reduce the swelling so the foot could be put into a cast. Kate felt Castle kiss the top of her head, like he did every night. A moment later she heard him sigh. No more than a minute after that Castle was asleep.

Kate shifted her position slightly so she could see Castle's face. Satisfied that he was asleep, Kate decided to close her eyes for a moment. In a few seconds she was asleep beside her husband.

When the nurse opened the door she saw Kate and Castle lying on the bed together. Coming closer she saw that they were both asleep and Castle was still bundled up in the blankets. 'I'll let them sleep' she decided. I'll come back after I back my rounds and drink a cup of coffee. After her rounds she checked her orders book. At 11:30 Castle was scheduled for another fluid pack. 'I'll wake her up then' she decided.

"Mrs. Castle," said a voice in Kate's ear. "Mrs. Castle wake-up."

"Okay," Kate mumbled. She looked around and carefully got off the bed. She gave her husband a soft kiss on his forehead and proceeded to dress. As Kate passed the Nurse's station the Nurse called out. "Mrs. Castle you are going to have to use the Emergency Room Exit. The main lobby is closed at night."

"Thanks," Kate replied. "Thanks for everything."

"Don't mention it."

As Kate entered the Emergency Room Lobby she nodded to the Officer who was standing there and headed toward the reception desk.

"Detective Beckett?" asked the Officer.

"Yes"

"No need to call a cab. I can have a unit take you to a hotel."

"I…. I don't want to take a unit off patrol."

"It's a slow night," the Officer responded "and besides our Watch Sergeant said to look out for you."

"Okay then," replied Kate with a small smile.

The ride to the Amber House was short. "I better come in with you," said the officer who had given Kate a ride.

"It's okay I can take care of myself," replied Kate.

"I know that and it's not you I'm worried about. Look it's late, you're armed, and you have no luggage. I just don't want a guest to panic."

"Fair enough," Kate said as she opened the door and walked into the hotel. 'This place is quite lovely' thought Kate. 'No wonder Gina selected it.'

"Hi I'm Mrs. Castle," Kate told the person behind the desk "I would like a room for the next two nights."

The clerk accepted Kate's credit card and driver's license. Stopped. Looked at Kate with a piercing glance, and punched a few more buttons. "Mrs. Castle we can give you the suite your husband originally booked."

"That would be more than acceptable. Thanks Officer, it looks like I made it here without scaring any of the other guests. Please give my best to your Watch Sergeant."

"Certainly Detective."

**Chapter 15 [Day 8 Thursday]**

Being on east coast time Kate woke early, tired to stay asleep and failed. After taking a leisurely shower Kate walked back into the bedroom and looked at her clothes. 'I need a clean outfit' she thought. 'And Castle probably needs 'going home' clothes too. I guess I'm going shopping.'

After breakfast Kate asked at the front desk and 'Deans' and 'Mary Ann's' in the Westfield Mal l was recommended.

"Where are we going ma'am?" asked the cabdriver after Kate enter the cab.

"Westfield Mall. An entrance near either Dean's or Mary Ann's."

"Right, they're close together. Entrance three should work."

Kate nodded and settled back into the cab and enjoyed the ride to the mall. As they turned onto the access road Kate looked to her right and saw two men rush out of a panel truck grab a woman and hustle her into the bank. Kate reached for her phone and scanned the cab for the drivers hack permit.

"Pam I need you to pull over and put your blinkers on," Kate said in a quiet but commanding tone.

The cabdriver did what she was asked to do. Looking at Kate in the mirror she saw her dial the phone and heard. "9-1-1- Operator I am Detective Kate Beckett out of the 12th precinct in New York City. I think I' m watching a bank robbery in progress. Please connect me with Police Dispatch."

Kate saw the cabdriver watching her and placed the phone in speaker mode.

"Sergeant Jenkins, where are you and what did you see Detective."

"We are near the Westfield Mall. I saw a woman get out of her car and head toward the entrance of the Wells Fargo bank on the access loop here. As she was walking I saw two men get out of a panel truck, rush her and hustle her towards the door of the bank. This fits the MO of some bank robberies we have been having in New York."

"Yeah, we have had several in the State. This would be the fifth in this city. I have dispatched a unit. ETA seventeen plus. Please stay on the line I'm passing you to ops."

"….Detective this is Captain Donaldson and Lieutenant Gentry. What you have described matches the MO of some recent robberies. What are your intentions?"

"Sir considering I'm way out of my jurisdiction, I'd planned to call for the cavalry and stay out their way."

"Good, Good. Could you have the cabdriver identify her unit so that we can try to positivity locate it?"

"This is Pam Edwards. I'm in Yellow Cab unit twenty-two. My transponder is on."

"Good. … Detective are you armed?"

"Yes. Why?"

"If you had to, could you get close enough to prevent the men from getting into the truck?"

"I don't think so. There is no cover Sir."

"What about in the cab."

"That would be up to the cabdriver Sir. Why?"

"….Unfortunately these aren't simple bank robberies. They are also kidnappings. The thieves abduct the woman tellers. The young ones get sold into a life of prostitution, or worse. The older ones are placed in baby factories."

Kate watched Pam reach up and turn off the meter. " I think the cabdriver just agreed to help," Kate remarked.

"Put yourself in position to watch and stop them if necessary. If they come out of the bank with just the money, let them go. We will try to track them. If they have the woman tellers with them try to stop them. … Detective look I know you are out of your jurisdiction…"

"But they are people that need my help. I have a certified white knight for a husband. I will do my best to stop them Sir."

"Leave the line open Detective."

Yes Sir, … Pam pull in the bank parking lot close to the truck. Back in so that you can make a quick getaway if you need to."

"Okay Detective."

"Captain we are in position. How long?"

"Twelve plus for the original unit. Fifteen plus for the backup unit and about the same for a supervisor unit."

"Copy twelve plus." Sitting in the cab Kate developed a plan. She took off her weapons belt and laid it on the floor. Taking her pocket knife she ripped the seam of her jacket's right sleeve. Holding her arm slightly above horizontal she could keep Castle's baton in place. When she lowered her arm, the baton slipped easily into her hand. 'This is going to work' she thought.

"They're coming out Sir, just bags," said Kate.

"Let them go Detective. We'll track them its only money."

"Roger that, … they are going back in…..Crap they came back out. They have a hostage. Stay on mute Sir."

Kate opened the car door and went hurrying after the two men and their hostage. "Hey…Hey.. I really need to get into the bank," she yelled.

"Look she's even cuter than this one."

"Let's take her too."

The robber closest to Kate dropped the bag and reached behind him. Kate dropped her arm, caught Castle's baton, deployed it and slashed upward into the thugs lower arm. The impact sent the gun he had been reaching for flying. Kate followed up by driving the handle of the baton into his stomach, causing him to bend forward and an overhand strike that drove him to his knee.

Kate spun and managed a weak upward strike into the second thugs ribs right before she got hit by the bag of money the second thug threw at her. The bag hit Kate like a sledge hammer on her left side causing her to hit the ground. Rolling with the impact best she could, she came up near the gun of the first thug. She kicked it to the rear as far as possible.

Yelling "Run to the Cab," to the hostage Kate charged the second thug. Her horizontal cut hit the back of his gun just as he was bringing it to bear. The blow sent the gun flying in the other direction. She side stepped and jammed the butt of the baton into the kidney area of the second thug, driving him to his knees.

Kate scrambled to her left and assumed the high guard position versus the first thug, Kate slide stepped forward, fainted high and struck low, on the shin right below the kneecap. The screech of pain and the stumble to his knee was just what Kate had hoped for. Stepping forward and going into a tight spin, she came out behind the thug and delivered a two handed mountain cut to the top of her opponents shoulder. The satisfying crack of the collar bone and the resultant thud as he hit the pavement were music to Kate's ears.

Kate crab stepped to her right and assumed the middle guard against her remaining opponent who had just regained his feet. "I'd get on back down there if I was you," Kate said. "Your partner is out of the fight and it's just you and me. And frankly you aren't that good. Captain please have the Calvary announce themselves. I want this fool to know that he's not going to get away."

Immediate the sound of a nearby siren was heard. Kate watched the thug's eyes widen and his head turn looking for an escape. "Don't even think it," Kate said. The thug grunted and started to lie down on the ground. "Keep those hands where I can see them, "Kate yelled.

"Captain two things; please tell the responding unit that I'm a friendly. If they tell me to kiss the pavement and I lose control of the situation I will be very pissed. And second, send an EMT vehicle. We have some bumps and bruises and probably a broken collar bone."

"Done and done Detective."

A moment later the first vehicle arrived. The Officers opened their doors got out and stood for a moment in disbelief at the sight before them.

"Don't just stand there looking at me," Kate yelled. "Cuff these guys and read them their rights. The charges will be attempted robbery and attempted kidnapping. Be careful. I haven't had a chance to search them yet. Oh and tiny over there probably has a broken collar bone. " Kate stayed on guard until the team of officers had handcuffed the suspects.

"Miss," said Kate as she approached the released hostage "is there anyone else in side?"

"Yeah, Tom. They hit him over the head with a pistol and kicked him in the ribs a couple of times before they tied him up."

"Let's go see how he is," Kate suggested.

Kate cut Tom loose and told him to lie still and the EMT's would be her soon. Susan, the teller that was taken hostage offered to stay with him until help arrived. Kate nodded her head and went outside and headed to a bench near a decretive garden to face the Sacramento Police Department's version of an incident response team. She didn't have long to wait.

"Detective Beckett? I'm Sergeant Williams. Captain Donaldson is on his way and he wants to be here when we start."

"Okay Sergeant. I do have one request though. Can we get Pam, the cabdriver done first? She needs to be out on the road so she can earn. Oh hell I might as well settle my fare now." Kate pushed herself off of the bench and headed toward Pam with the Sergeant in tow.

"I don't see why we can't take her statement," said Sergeant Williams. "She's local and we can find her if we have any follow-up questions."

After settling up, and providing an excellent tip, Kate moved back to the bench. Moments later the adrenalin rush ended and the magnitude of what she did struck her. She reached down and grabbed Castle's baton from her belt. 'What was I thinking? Castle is going to be furious.'…'It was necessary,' she reminded herself. The thought still did not make her feel less shaky.

Captain Donaldson arrived on the scene and wandered around for a little bit overhearing the conversations of his people.

"When we arrived here," said a young patrolman, " I thought we were on a movie set. I mean the Detective is definitely too good looking to be a cop, and there she was with a baton and the two robbers on the ground. We just stood there, and then she yelled at us to get our asses over there and cuff the guys. Take about meaning embarrassed."

"When the EMT's were through," said the other patrolman, "the suspects made the usual noises about 'you're dead' 'we're going to get you'. She just looked at them and said. 'I wouldn't worry about me sweet cheeks, when your playmates in the yard find out that you got your asses handed to you by a girl… I think you are going to have all of the action you can handle.' I mean if that is not a line from a movie than what is?"

As expected, the hostage's statement was disjointed and very rough around the edges. The cabbies statement was fairly comprehensive and easy to understand. Eventual the Captain returned to his car, grabbed a couple of Styrofoam cups and his thermos and walked over toward where Kate was sitting. He motioned her to stay seated as he neared. He handed her a cup filled it about two-thirds of the way, topped off his own cup and sat back on the bench.

"I'm Captain Donaldson, Detective. This was a great piece of work."

"Thank you Sir."

"I don't need much of a statement from you. We have most everything we need from the phone call. What I want to know is why you chose to use the baton instead of your weapon."

"I didn't think I could win a gun fight Sir. They would have two and me only one. They also had he hostage. I thought if I confronted them they would be able to use the hostage against me and I would not even be able to keep them here until help arrived. … So I offered them a poison pill. I thought they would let me get close. I was pretty sure I could take one out of the fight quickly, and dance with the other one until help arrived. It worked, sort of. I didn't plan on being clobbered by a bag of money."

"Gutsy," remarked the Captain. "Do all Detectives' in New York carry batons?"

"No. This is my husband's. When he went on his trip he left it in my jacket packet with a note that I might need this. I did. It has come in handy three times this week. "

"He any good?"

"Yes" smiled Kate. "Javier, Detective Esposito, one of the members of my team said that the only way he would face Castle with a baton is at range through the telescope of a sniper rifle. Javier is ex-mil."

"I got all I need. Detective I'm going to do a couple of things. First is I'm going to send a copy of this incident report to your Captain. I'm going to try to get the Chief to endorse it. Can't promise, but I will try."

"Thank you Sir."

"The next thing I'm going to do is craft a citation for bravery." The Captain held up his hand as Kate tried to speak. "If you were one of my own it would be a done deal. You're not, but I think your effort deserves the recognition. I will also pass that along to your Captain."

"Thank you Sir."

"The last thing we need to talk about is the reward."

"I'm a serving Officer, Sir."

"Not in the State of California. In my mind that makes you eligible."

"We…we really don't need the money. Do you think you could persuade the people underwriting the reward to make a donation to the 'Widows and Orphans Fund?' "

"I think they would gladly make the donation in your name Detective."

"In both mine and my husband's name Sir. After all it is his baton," Kate said with the beginning of a grin.

"I think they would agree. Now for the last thing. I understand you need to do some shopping?"

"Castle is being released from the Hospital either today or tomorrow and all his clothes are at the bottom of some ravine, and I do need a new outfit."

"Michaels, Simmons," the Captain said loudly as he beckoned a pair of patrolmen to him. "This is Detective Beckett she needs to do some shopping and end up with her husband at the hospital. Please try to keep her out of trouble. Another incident like this," said the Captain as he waved his hand toward the bank," would be embarrassing. "

Kate stood up with the Captain and shook the offered hand. "Detective it has been a pleasure and I do hope I have the honor of seeing you again out here in the near future."

As she turned to face the two Officers, Officer Michaels said with a grin, "Where we going Detective?"

'Deans' was definitely a mid-scale men's clothing store. It was a good recommendation. Kate was sure she could everything she needed for Castle here. Underwear, socks, belt, and a deep blue shirt were easily obtained. She selected a pair of boot jeans and a corduroy jacket in a size close enough for Castle and proceeded to the checkout.

"Find everything you need," asked the salesman in an Italian accent whose nametag said 'Tony'.

"Yes," replied Kate, "But I'm going to need the pants and jacket altered."

"We can do that. We are a little tight right now. We can have them for you in a week."

"My husband is being released from the hospital today and I need them in an hour," Kate said firmly.

The salesman looked at the Officers and then back at Kate, "if I may ask, who is your husband?"

"Richard Castle"

"No shit," said the salesman in an accent that was pure Brooklyn. "That makes you Ni…"

"Detective Kate Beckett," Kate supplied in a firm voice and a grim expression.

"What do you need done?" Tony asked, the accent and work load forgotten.

"He has a broken left foot. So this pants leg needs to be widened."

"We'll rip the seam up to the knee and add three inches. I think we can use the black silk. Okay what else?"

"His lower right arm is broken."

"We'll rip the seam up to the elbow, black silk again. Three inches should be sufficient. We'll have these done by the time you finish shopping for a new outfit," he promised.

As Kate was settling the bill, "Why the accent?" she asked.

"Marketing," Tony replied with a smile.

Kate nodded her understanding.

In 'Mary Ann's' Kate easily found a cream colored jacket and matching slacks. She rounded out the outfit with a couple of pale yellow blouses and colorful blue-green scarf. Satisfied with her purchases for Castle and herself, she returned to 'Deans' collected Castles' clothes and headed to the hospital. Kate bounced out of the police unit in front of the hospital with packages in hand and charged inside.

When Kate looked into Castle's hospital room she saw his foot encased in a cast. 'Well that's that,' she thought. 'He probably will be released today. '

"Where have you been," he asked in a mock agitated voice. "They are in the process of releasing me and you're out shopping?"

"Considering all of your clothes are at the bottom of ravine still in the trunk of the rental car, I thought you might want some traveling clothes. Unless of course you wish to travel in that."

Castle looked down at his hospital gown. "I would be cool at least. You know the American woman has elevated shopping to an art form. …Kate what happened?" asked Castle in a voice equal parts steel and concern.

"Oh this, nothing"

"Kate!" Castle warned.

Locking eyes with her husband," I'm fine really. I'll tell you about it okay?" Kate crossed over to the chair and laid the jacket and pants on its arm. Turning she took a step to Castle's bedside. The look of concern on his face tugged at her heart. "I'm sorry I made you worry," she whispered.

"Me too," he replied.

"We both saved a life," she whispered.

"Good…. One of the pleasant side effects of shopping is Presents! What did you buy me?" said Castle in the tone and manner of a kid on Christmas.

Kate looked up when she heard the snicker of the nurse who was tidying up the machines that had kept Castle company through the night. The nurse's smile was infectious. Castle opened the bag and pulled out a package of underwear and socks.

"Why do briefs come in packages of three and socks in packages of two?"

"Is this a hot dog and hot dog bun question?"

"No this is important."

"Go change, and maybe I'll buy you some ice cream."

After the door to the restroom had closed the nurse looked at Kate grinned and said, "Is he always like that?"

"What joking?" When the nurse nodded Kate continued. "Yes. Humor is how he copes with a situation. If he wasn't trying to make a joke I would be worried. I can't tell you the number of times where we have been stuck on a case and one of his bad jokes broke the mood and started us to think again. It's one of the things I love about him."

Kate turned as a male attendant entered the room "Personal effects for …. Richard Castle."

"I'll sign for them," Kate said. "I'm Mrs. Castle."

The attendant looked at the nurse. "She most definitely is Tom."

"Say," said Kate. "Could you get us a wheelchair? After Castle changes I would like to take him outside into the warm sun. You guys can find us there right?"

"Sure we can sweetie, Tom?"

"Right away ma'am."

Kate nodded and noticed that Castle's effects did not include his digital voice recorder.

"You had the jacket and pants altered," Castle exclaimed as he clomped out of the bathroom.  
"Dah. Now get in," she said pointing to the wheelchair. "Last time you drove you got ran off of the road."

"Not fair," Castle responded as he got in.

Within a few steps Kate had them racing toward the elevator. As soon as they got outside Kate saw an immediate change in Castle. It was like he was alive again. She watched as he breathed and just took in his surroundings. They found a stone table and benches sheltered by a huge valley oak. "Okay", said Castle once they had settled in. "What happened?"

Castle didn't say a thing. He didn't have too. His eyes did all of the talking. She watched his eyes as she told her story. She saw the flash of understanding when she described the robbers going into the bank, anger when she told him about the kidnapping ring, concern and disbelief when she described her decision to fight and pride at the outcome.

"Having the award go to the 'Widows and Orphans' was a nice touch. They have to award it now or look like fools."

"Yes" said Kate as both of their stomachs rumbled. "I am kind of hungry."

"Look there's a deli across the street. Why don't we…?"

"You stay put. They might come with your release papers," said Kate as she strode off towards the Deli. "Don't get used to this," she added over her shoulder.

When Kate opened the door to the deli her mouth began to water when she smelled the aroma of fresh baked bread. The tables for two on her right were covered with a red-and-white checkerboard tablecloth and were three-quarters full. This place looks like it came from the Lower East Side, thought Kate. Let's hope the food is as good. Once again Kate looked at the tables, considering the early lunch hour this place must do a good trade. Looking at the Bill of Fare on the wall Kate laughed. This will be easy. "Cheeseburger basket and a club sandwich," Kate told the order taker, "Oh and a couple of bottles of water."

Crossing the street with their food in hand Kate saw three people sitting with Castle. 'They don't look like hospital staff, reporters?' Kate hurried forward. As Kate approached the bench she saw Castle start to stand up." Don't you dare Rick, "Kate commanded in her best and most severe street voice.

Shocked for a split-second Castle responded "This is my wife Kate. Kate this is Danielle 'Danny', Samuel 'Sam' and Susan 'Sue' Castleton. Danny is Kate's grand-daughter."

'So they came after all,' thought Kate. "Pleased to me you," Kate responded automatically.

"Sit down Dear and eat your lunch. Rick has been taking for a while. Now it's our turn."

Danny was in her late forties or early fifties. Her clothes were tasteful and fitted. Her jewelry understated but still elegant. She appeared to be no stranger to a spa or heath club. She appeared to have been born in money and learned not to flaunt it. Sam appeared to be in his mid-twenties, he had a ruggedly handsome face, not unlike Castles'. He was dressed in a sport coat with matching slacks and tieless shirt. He had the feel of an athlete about him. Swimming maybe? Sue appeared to be nervous. Married into the family, thought Kate and not used to the wealth. Sue was definitely a black-haired beauty and probably had her pick of the boys in college. She was dressed in a conservative pants suit not unlike Kate.

"Rick has been telling us of your interest in Grandma and Grandpa," Danny began. "We did not respond to the emails because when an author starts enquiring about your ancestors the result is normally not good."

"He told us about a case where you had déjà vu?" Asked Sam.

"Yes," replied Kate after she had taken a sip of water. "We both knew things about an apartment that we had never been in before. In a dream, we were dancing," Kate said with a smile in Castle's direction, " They told me their names, Kate and Karl Castleton."

"They loved to dance, and they loved jazz," said Danny.

"They also gave us some warnings," said Castle between bites of a French fry.

"What kind," asked Sue?

"Just vague ones," replied Castle. "Just detailed enough to let us look for trouble before we stepped into it."

"I understand that you bought several pieces of Karl's work?" asked Sam.

"I'll take this one Babe" said Kate as Castel had just bitten into the cheeseburger.

"Two examples of calligraphy. One was 'My Wife's Smile' and the other 'Behind Green Eyes'. I would love to know the story behind that piece. Also a book ' Strawberry Hill Murders'."

"I don't have those pieces in the registry" said Sam with a look of concern. "And the book was Kate's first in her new series. It really pushed her over the top."

"It has an interesting dedication, "offered Kate.

"Doesn't it though," said Danny with a knowing smile.

"You opened the book and read it? "asked Castle.

"Had too," said Kate taking another bite of her club sandwich.

"I'll have a professional take some pictures of the calligraphy so that you can have an entry for the registry," Castle offered.

"That would be great and the pieces themselves?"

"We'll see," said Castle. Kate knew she had missed something, but Castle did not seem to be concerned.

"Do you have a picture of them," asked Kate.

Danny reached down beside her, pulled a portfolio onto the table and pulled out a laminated picture and handed it to Castle who placed it between them. Kate reached behind Castle, gently grabbed his hip and scooted herself toward him. In a moment they were sitting hip-to-hip, Kate's left leg touching Castle's right one. The contact brought the familiar warm feeling to Kate.

When a gust of wind attempted to blow the picture away, Castle reached out and placed a finger on the top left corner and Kate the lower right. "It's uncanny," said Danny "Kate you look enough alike my grandmother to be her sister."

"Yes," agreed Kate as she looked into Castles' eyes. "If I was dressed in clothes from another time."

For a moment Kate thought she was in a hotel room looking into another man's handsome face. 'Karl' …"then she can warn me anytime she wants…" she heard herself say. Kate blinked and once again was looking at Castles' face, which was staring at her in wide eyed amazement. 'Kate is a lucky woman' Beckett thought. 'But I'm not going to trade my Castle for all of the Karl's in the universe.'

"Is it possible?…" stammered Castle.

"Keep it," said Danny. "I brought it with me because I thought you would ask."

"Thank you," replied Kate in a soft and sincere voice.

Kate saw Danny look up and toward the entrance to the hospital and followed her gaze. "It looks like your jailer is on the way with the reprieve," Danny remarked. "Look the next time you come here you most stay with us. No it is not an imposition. Kate you like baseball right? The next time you are here we will take in a Sacramento River Cats game. One other thing." Danny pulled out a bound manuscript from her portfolio and handed it to Beckett. "Grandmother's last book. She never published it. I'm sure you will find it … interesting."

The Castleton's left before the hospital personnel arrived. "If we hurry we can have you out of here and at the airport in time to make the next shuttle to LAX. These are for the pain. Take as needed, but no alcohol. This cream is for the frostbite spots. It will ease the discomfort and promote healing. You can use an over the counter product when this runs out."

"Rehab?" asked Kate.

"Just a broken arm and leg. Nothing extraordinary."

"We can handle that," said Kate with a determined smile.

"Sign here and here, Oh look your ride is here."

Kate looked toward the street where a Police Unit had pulled up. The faces of the Uniformed Officers getting out of the car belonged to Michaels, and Simmons. When I get home I'm going to thank Captain Gates, Kate promised.

The ride to the airport, the rush through the airport, the flight to LAX and the electric cart ride to the Airline lounge was rushed, but thankfully uneventful. Eventually they were seated in the lounge with bottles of water and some fruit to munch on. It only took a second for Castle to get a bored expression on his face.

"Without your phone or iPad you are going to have to pass the time in a more conventitional way. How about I get you something to read?" asked Kate.

"Great," said Castle with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

Kate got up and went over to the area where the Lounge kept the newspapers. She scooped up a USA Today and a WSJ she turned to leave when a picture grabbed her eye. It was a picture of Castle with Gina on one arm and Meredith on the other. The caption read 'Castle's Ex-wives Club.' 'This could be interesting. I can have some fun with this.' Returning she handled him that magazine first.

"Scan this and tell me if there is anything I need to worry about." Kate saw Castle go a little pale then chuckle.

"Something tells me I should be asking that question."

"Is there?" Kate teased.

"No" Castle responded matching Kate's grin. Reluctantly Castle picked up a newspaper and started to read.

Several minutes later Kate looked up and saw a young teenage girl, carrying the latest 'Storm' book eyeing the back of the paper Castle was reading. "Babe" Kate said. Castle looked up and followed his wife's gaze.

"Would you like me to autograph that for you," asked Castle in a soft voice.

"Yes please," she gushed.

Castle reached toward his pocket and then remembered. "Kate do you have a pen?"

"Here use mine Mr. Castle," said a voice to Castle's right. He looked up at the gentlemen, nodded, accepted the pen and autographed the book for one of his fans. As he made to return the pen the gentlemen said, "If you could autograph this one for me I would appreciate it, and keep the pen. It is not often a person like me can say he gifted his favorite author a pen."

Soon the space around Castle was filled with fans. Some were seeking autographs, others wanting to discuss characters and plot points. Kate was both amused and thankful. Kate reached to answer her phone; the call was from Castle's agent.

"Hi Kate," said Jill. "I tried Castle's phone. After the third attempt I realized he must have lost his phone. Is he with you? Is he okay? When you coming home?"

"Yes, he's banged up a bit, but otherwise fine. Right now we are in the airline's lounge and he's holding court with a bunch of his fans. They appear to be discussing everything Storm and Heat."

"Great. When are you coming home?"

"We are on the red-eye. We'll get in a little after six."

"Then Castle can make the eight o'clock morning show segment."

"Jill don't. Castle is still fragile. Let me keep him for a day. He needs a good night's rest and proper food. He's not going to get that on the airplane. Do it the next day, not to tomorrow."

"But the next day is Saturday."

"Yeah, I don't think Castle has ever done a weekend show. This would be a first and they would owe you."

"That could work, especially if we advertise a bit. Kate let me talk to him."

"Jill promise me that you won't ask him to do the Friday show. He would do it you know if you asked."

"I heard somewhere that 'It is a wife's duty to preserve and protect the health of her husband.' Since I am extremely familiar with the author of the quote, and I know she carries a gun, I will honor her wishes."

"Thanks, here he is."

"Babe," said Kate as she held the phone out for Castle to talk.

"Hi Jill what's up?... Yes I can do that. Why not tomorrow?... Okay I can definitely live with that. Thanks bye." Castle handed the phone back to Kate and was once again engaged with his fans.

After the aircraft had leveled off at altitude Kate stole a glance at Castle. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be resting. 'Good' she thought as she reached for the manuscript Danny had given her.

Kate paused at the dedication page for a long time and then turned to the first chapter. Seconds later she closed the manuscript and stuffed it back in the seat pocket in front of her.

"That bad?" asked Castle.

"No it's just…" Kate reached for the manuscript and pulled it onto her lap. "The dedication reads 'Love the Unbreakable Bond That Binds the Inseparable Pair" she quoted without opening the book.

"I do love you and I hope we are inseparable," offered Castle.

Kate opened the manuscript and read," My name is Karen Blanchet. I am a NYC detective. This is my story. No our story. This is the story of how we, my writer husband and I keep the bad apples out of the Big Apple. "

"Okay, she started with a cliché. Forgive her that and move on."

"It's not that. I can't read this. We're living this. I don't want to know how someone else thinks it will end. Not even the other Kate. I don't want it to end. I know I'm living a fairly tale. My Prince Charming is by my side and together we fight monsters and make the kingdom safe. I'm going to do my best to make our story a happy ever after one. We are writing our own story as we go along. I…."

"What type of story would my co-author like to write?" asked Castle as he offered Kate his hand.

"I'm hoping for a romantic comedy. A lot of romance and enough comedy so that we don't take ourselves too seriously. Let the drama come from the cases and your stories," Kate replied as she squeezed his hand fiercely despite the cast.

"Our stories," interjected Castle.

"Our stories," she agreed.

**Chapter 16 [Day 9 Friday]**

The Castles arrived at the Loft as Martha was finishing up her breakfast and getting ready to go to her school. "Richard Dear I'm so glad that you're safe and home."

"Be to, Mother. In six weeks I'll be as good as new."

"I know you will. Plans?"

"Food, shower, and then bed," announced Kate.

"Then take my advice and turn off your phone."

"You sit and I'll cook," said Kate, a reversal from their normal breakfast roles. Kate went to pour a cup of coffee.

"Martha's coffee, really," said Castle "How about some hot chocolate instead."

"Good idea, I must have been desperate."

In a couple of minutes Kate had the bacon cooked and was starting the eggs, and despite Kate's threats Castle helped by making the toast, setting the table and pouring the juice. Eventually everything was ready and the Castles were enjoying breakfast.

"You know when I was in the emergency room the doctor remarked that my hypothermia symptoms were a lot lighter than he expected. I told him about the dream I had where I was seated here and drinking hot chocolate with you."

Kate stopped eating and whispered, "Castle on that night I did come out here and make hot chocolate for us."

Castle stopped eating for a moment, stared at Kate, started to speak, stopped, and then resumed eating. Some things were better left unsaid.

At five after one Kate wished she had taken Maratha's advice about the phone. Ten minutes later Kate was in the kitchen fixing soup and sandwiches and Castle was in his office responding to emails. When Kate's phone went off at three o'clock Castle was still hard at work answering the emails and Kate had curled up in her chair by her new elephant, reading a book on her E-reader. Kate smiled when she saw the caller ID. Placing the phone in speaker mode she uncoiled from her seat and headed toward Castle's office. "Detective Beckett," she beamed.

"I take it you guys are awake," said the voice of one her truest friends, "are you up for some company? " Asked the other.

"What did you have in mind," Kate asked as she locked eyes with Castle.

"Esposito and I thought you would like to be brought up to speed on the case you abandoned," teased Ryan. "And we want to know what happened," said Esposito.

"To both of you," added Ryan.

"Story time," offered Castle. "I'm always up for good stories. When were you planning on coming over?"

"End of shift between five-thirty and six okay?"

"Sure, I was going to ask Kate to order in. Is Chinese okay?"

"From the Golden Dragon, absolutely. My usual." Said Esposito.

"Mine too," offered Ryan.

"Can Jenny come?" asked Kate.

"Her sister is staying with us for a couple of days and has offered to babysit so sure. I'll ask but I'm pretty sure she will say yes. "

"I'll ask Lanie. I'm pretty sure she will say yes too," said Esposito.

"Okay I'll have the food delivered at six. You guys plan your arrival times accordingly," said Kate with a huge grin that was reflected in Castle's face.

"How did she sound?" asked Captain Gates.

"Happy," replied Ryan.

"You should join us Sir," said Esposito? "I'm sure Beckett would like to hear about your trip to DC with the DA," said Esposito.

"I might at that," said Captain Gates.

"Don't worry about the food Sir," said Ryan. "The Chinese place always sends order an extra serving of something. Castle is like their adopted son or something. "

Captain Gates thought about the document she just received. "Six o'clock?"

"Yes Sir?"

Kate had no sooner sat down when her phone rang again. "Hi Jill"

"How's he doing?"

"Great, he's had two good meals and has had a good nap. Thanks for letting me keep him at home today."

"No problem. Look Amy, Castle's publicist, and I would like to come over sometime soon and take a statement."  
"Can you make it tonight at six? My partners from the precinct are coming over and we are going to swap stories. The case I left behind, Castle's adventure and mine. We will be ordering in from the Golden Dragon."

"We'll be there!" said Jill with enthusiasm. "Shrimp with lobster sauce for me. Amy is a Mongolian Beef type of girl."

"Good those two are on our normal list. Do you need to talk to him?"

"Only to remind him about tomorrow."

"I'll personally deliver him tomorrow," affirmed Kate.

"In that case I will see you around six. Bye and Thanks Kate."

Kate walked back to Castle's office and watched him.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Jill. She and Amy are joining us for story time. Amy wants a statement so…"

"Good idea," Said Castle as he leaned back in his chair, threw his hands over his head and stretched. Getting up he picked up his empty glass and headed toward the door. "Do we have any more tea?"

"Yes, I made fresh at lunch. I can get that," said Kate as she held out her hand.

Castle ignored her outstretched hand, and gave her a one-armed hug instead. "I do appreciate the attention, but I can still look after myself, somewhat"

Kate leaned back and took Castle's face in her hand. As she searched it she saw a touch of fatigue, no pain, twinkling eyes and a grin that would not stop.

"I'm okay Kate," he said softly. "Have I told you I love you today?"

"No," Kate said as she went up on her tip toes to give him a kiss. "I'm sure it's just an oversight and you will get around to it as soon as your busy schedule permits."

Castle seemed too growl as he pulled Kate in for a kiss worthy of the name.

Kate sighed when they broke and placed her head on his chest. She squeezed Castle gently. "There. I think I just heard my husband tell me he loves me."

Castle chuckled and said and he rubbed his chin. "With all of the people we have coming over I guess I'm going to have to clean up."

"Pick me up on the way to the shower and I'll join you."

Kate thwarted Castle's predictable attempt to swat her behind and walked back to her chair. Castle paused on his way to the kitchen for more tea to watch his wife walk away and concluded that his extraordinary wife was indeed one fine-fine thing.

A bit later Kate looked up and saw Castle right beside her chair with an outstretched hand. Turning off her reader she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lift here to her feet. "Castle" she squealed as he continued to lift her into his arms.

"My wife said to pick her up on my way to the shower," he said with a grin.

"Do you do everything your wife tells you," Kate teased.

"I try" said Castle in a tone way to serious for Kate's liking. "Sometimes it doesn't work out so well."

"She knows," Kate said in as gentle a voice as she could. "She knows and forgives you."

Kate had just walked out of the bedroom and was crossing the front room toward her phone so that she could place the food order when the opening of the door caught her attention. "Alexis, Sweetie,"

"Kate," replied Alexis with genuine warmth in her voice. "Dad?"

"He's going to fine. Outside of a broken arm and foot he's fine. In six weeks he will be good as new. … He's still dressing, the casts slow him down a little. We were lucky."

"I know, a traffic accident," said Alexis with a shudder.

"You are just in time. We're having a story time in a little bit with food from Golden Dragon. The Boys are going to share what I missed on the case, and they want to hear Castle's adventure and my bank robbery story. Jenny and Lanie are coming too. Also Jill and Amy are going to join us. Amy wants a statement. I figure she can gist one from the storytelling. Joining us?"

"Yes. Of course. It sounds like we are having all of the in-laws over for dinner."

"In-laws?"

"Yeah, the precinct are your in-laws, which Dad seems to get along with…"

"And Amy and Jill are Castle's which are important to him and I don't know them that well. I never thought of it like that."

"There is one in-law missing."

"Gina?"

Alexis shook her head.

Kate took a deep breath and let it out. "Okay I'll call."

"Gina it's Kate…. Look we are having story time here tonight starting around six. The boys from the precinct will talk about our case and Castle and I will tell our California stories. … Amy and Jill are coming over too. Amy wants a statement and this seems the best way to give her one…. We're ordering in from the Golden Dragon. Please say you will come. You are part of the California story….Heavenly Delight, that's my favorite too."

"Thank you," said Alexis.

"You're right I need to reach out to Castle's side of the family," Kate smiled.

"I'll put my things in my room and…. It's still my room isn't it?"

"I'm not pregnant yet, but I'm going to be. "

"Good. I hope the first one is a boy. I always wanted a baby brother. I'll be back to help in a jiff."

"You don't have to."

"Habit, I got used to taking care of Dad."

Jenny and Kevin were the first to arrive, followed almost immediately by Amy and Jill, and then Lanie and Javier. Gina was the last to arrive.

Kate was worried about how Jill and Amy would react to her 'Police' in-laws. She didn't have to worry. Amy and Jill had the party in stiches with 'Castle the early years tales.'

Martha arrived with the food. "You're throwing a party and you didn't tell me," she mock protested.

"Story time Grand," said Alexis with a genuine smile. "We ordered for you. You want the Red or the White?"

"The Red of course Dear."

"Food's ready," announced Castle. "House rule, everyone must use chopsticks. Of course for the price of a kiss a fork will be provided."

"The rule has been suspended," said Kate with a touch of humor in her voice. "Remember what I told the first time you told me about the house rule?"

"Yeah, you said I must be desperate. Remember what I told you about kisses."

"Yeah, you said a kiss was the way you could tell a one-night stand from a lasting relationship. How that work out for you?"

"That night it didn't for I believe the lady chose the chopsticks."

"Indeed she did," said Kate right before she leaned in and kissed Castle. "What about now."

"I would say I was right."

Kate shifted so she was beside Castle with her head on his shoulder as they watched their guests serve themselves. I t was the tradition in the Loft that the quests came first, and their friends knew and respected them for it.

Kate was just about to pick up a plate when the doorbell rang. Locking eyes with Castle she went to answer the door. "Captain Gates?"

"Do you have room for one more?"

"Certainly, come on in. We just started dinner. Let me introduce you to some people as you get your food. "

When all the people had been feed and the stories had all been told, Captain Gate spoke up. "I received this today and I need to read it." She opened her purse and unfolded a piece of paper. "This is the citation to accompany the award of the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal to Katherine Houghton Beckett-Castle, a Detective out of the 12th Precinct of New York City. Let it be known that…..with the admiration and respect of a grateful city, Dean Keel, Major, Sacramento, California. They want you back on their annual awards day Detective. I can't see a reason why you shouldn't be there. The Chief says well done."

Kate was stunned, but not too stunned to respond to Castle's passionate kiss.

"Captain," said Castle in a strangely level tone, "if you try to write us up for unprofessional behavior I will be absolutely pissed."

"Mr. Castle if the Chief came into my home and read something like this and my husband did not kiss me, he would be sleeping on the couch without a pillow or a blanket."

A moment later the room rang with congratulations for Kate.

When the clamor died down Captain Gates stood up. "On that high note I'll think I'll head home. Thanks for hosting this. This really was fun. "

The others quickly followed suit. Jill was the last the leave, "Remember be in the studio for makeup no later than six-twenty."

"We'll be there," said Kate.

When Kate returned to the kitchen Alexis and Castle were taking care of the dishes and Martha was putting the leftovers in the fridge. "Grand and I have this you guys. Kate why don't you take Dad to bed? I mean…"

"What a splendid idea," said Castle.

"Yes it is," agreed Kate.

Grandmother and Granddaughter watched her son, her granddaughter's father and his wife walk arm and arm toward the bedroom. "Patience Sweetie, you will find yours."

"How will I know?"  
"You just will"

"Dad had to fight so hard. I don't think I can do that. "

"If he's worth it, you will find a way…. Now nothing can separate those two."

**Chapter 17 [Day 10 Saturday]**

Despite the earlier than normal setting, Kate woke prior to alarm going off. She was happy and content. Castle's gentle breathing let her know he was here and alright. She shifted to look at his sleeping face. 'No change. No pain, nothing. Just Castle's normal sleeping face, good,' thought Kate.

Last night's story time had ender rather early. Between the rush of the citation and their lovemaking the night had ended on a perfect note. Their lovemaking had started out passionate and needy, and ended passionate and oh so loving. Not a top-ten but definitely a keeper. The alarm's harsh beeps brought Kate back to reality. "Hey lover you need to get up. The makeup girls are going to need a lot to time to make you presentable to the city of New York."

Castle blinked turned his head and looked at Kate. To his eyes she seemed to glow. "How is it you can look so beautiful this early in the morning?"

"Easy, you are still asleep and dreaming. Come-on. I'll cook."

"I'll cook," said Castle as he surged into the vertical position. "I love you, but you don't do well with omelets."

Castle led them past the checkpoints and to the make-up room with practiced ease. "Hey handsome," said one of the make-up girls, easily in her late forties, "what are you doing after the show?"

"I'm heading back to place."

"Want some company?"

"See that woman over there with the gun. She's my wife, and she's kind of possessive."

"I don't mind."

"I do. She is special to me and I want to keep her."

The playful banter continued on for several minutes and ended with "….Honey, you don't need a gun to keep this one. He is most definitely yours."

"I know," said Kate and her smile said I am most definitely his.

"Our next guest is Mr. Richard Castle. This is his first time on the weekend show, we need to fix that. As you may know he and a young girl were stranded as a result of a severe fog condition. He has agreed to come on the show today to tell us this story."

Castle started the interview with a plug for his book and then launched into the story. Thirty seconds into the story, he had their complete and undivided attention.

"I understand your wife; Detective Beckett came with you to the studio today."

"Yes, she wants to make sure I get home okay. I think she is being a little bit over protective, but I love her for it."

"I understand she had an adventure of her own in California. Do you think you could persuade her to come out and share her story?"

"The NYPD have strict rules on Officers giving interviews…"

"What if we asked Mrs. Castle to come out, not Detective Beckett. If we get into a sensitive area she can tells us to back off and we will."

"That would be entirely up to Kate," said Castle as he looked off camera at his wife in the studio.

"What about it Mrs. Castle? Can we tempt you to join your husband on-stage?"

Kate hesitated for a second. 'I AM Mrs. Richard E. Castle,' she told herself. 'It's time I played a more active role in his life. He most definitely plays an active role in mine.'

Kate placed her bottle of water on the table and walked toward the set. 'I'm not going to kiss him. I'm not going to kiss him. I'm not going to kiss him. Ah hell Kate thought to herself as she pulled on Castle's jacket lapels and leveraged Rick's face down for a kiss. Kate saw the look of surprise on his face. She was absolutely pleased with his recovery.

"New York City this is my wife Kate. Kate, New York City."

The producer was momentarily stunned, and then she recovered. She is absolutely gorgeous, and that was pure ratings gold.

"I understand this is your first time on camera together…"

"I'm okay Kate," said Castle as he got into the cab.

"I can see that now. Forgive me?"

"Always, call me if you catch a case."

Kate waved good bye. Sorry love she thought as she headed toward the subway. I can't take you with me for six weeks. I know you are going to be pissed. But…

The person looked through the view finder of the camera and took a couple of more shots of Castle in the cab and Kate heading toward the subway.

'Rick how could you be so careless and almost die in a traffic accident? Killing you is my job. And you married Kate. That's going to make it harder and sweeter when I run you both to ground.' Smiling the person left the perch and became just another tourist in NYC with a camera.


End file.
